In Reverse
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: What if they swapped places? (A Heiji/Kazuha roleswap AU, featuring Kazuha as the high school detective of the west.)
1. The Naniwa Serial Murders Case

**AN** : Hello all! This one's based off a tumblr prompt, and it's pretty much what it says on the tin. I'll definitely be coming back to this idea at some point in the near future, so look forward to that! I really wanna give a thank you to everyone on the detco discord server that I'm on for helping me bounce around ideas- I've got a whole bunch, so as promised earlier, look forward to more sometime!

* * *

 **In Reverse**

 **One**

* * *

"So? Where is he?"

Mouri Ran was not the type to easily be intimidated- it took much more than the admittedly rather intense glower of an unknown stranger to leave her with any feeling of danger. What _was_ the issue, however, was the fact that she completely hadn't expected to be confronted with such a thing today. She'd been hoping for a pleasant outing with a new friend- not a confrontation with a young man speaking with a rather thick Kansai dialect.

"Where is who?" Ran blinked, instinctively moving her arms so that she brought Conan a bit closer to herself. He squirmed at it, but he'd thank her later if this got out of hand. "You're going to have to be a little more specific than that."

"What do ya mean, _who_? Yer with him, aren't ya?" Leaning back, the young man cast a skeptical look down towards her, one brow shooting up. "Kudo, I mean, that Kudo guy! Who else would I be talkin' about?"

"Kudo?" For a moment, Ran found herself briefly dumbfounded, as much as she knew exactly who he meant. It was everything else that was thoroughly confounding her- namely who this person was, what his problem with Shinichi was, and why he thought he'd be here with them to begin with. "If you're asking about Shinichi, he's not here."

"So that's the bastard's first name?" Folding his arms in front of his chest, the young man didn't appear satisfied by her answer. "There's no way that guy's not here! Not with the way Kazuha was goin' on about meetin' him here today, ta show him around Osaka, he's not. And if he's the type ta ditch her..."

" _Who's_ the type ta ditch me?"

Judging from the way the young man nearly jumped out of his skin the moment he heard her voice, it was clear that he was fully aware he wasn't supposed to be here right now. Slowly turning around, coming face to face with a rather impressive glare on the girl's face, a hand strayed up behind his head, nervously scratching it.

"What, Kazuha, ya came back faster than I thought!" For a moment, it seemed as if all of his anger had been taken out of him in one swift, fell swoop- before it bubbled back to the surface again. "More importantly, where's this guy ya keep talkin' about lately? This Kudo bastard that ya won't shut up about? Ya said he was comin', didn't ya?"

" _Idiot_ , I didn't say that." Letting out a long sigh, Toyama Kazuha shoved past him, her gaze flickering over towards him as she took the seat she had left next to Ran. "I said I was goin' ta show Ran-chan an' her family around Osaka today, that's all. Ya went an' decided on yer own that Kudo was goin' ta be there!"

"Well, ya said it yerself, didn't ya?" Heiji asked, still not looking satisfied with this. "That he's close with this Neechan over here. I thought fer sure if she as comin', he'd be comin' along too."

"Like I said, ya just went an' decided that on yer own!" Kazuha repeated, narrowing her eyes, before she heaved a long sigh, turning back to her guests. "An' yer botherin' Ran-chan an' everyone, so why don't ya apologize already?"

With a sour look still on his face, the young man turned his gaze back towards the trio of guests that Kazuha had been showing around Osaka today. He'd quickly ruled out the old man as being 'Kudo', since he'd seen the mustached geezer's face in papers lately, and he knew there was no way it could be the shrimp sitting in the girl's lap. For a moment, he'd briefly considered it could have been the girl herself- but she sounded a bit more like this Ran person that Kazuha had mentioned once or twice, rather than this mysterious Kudo.

Perhaps it was inevitable that Kazuha would be smitten with another high school detective- but he just didn't like that idea! Sure, she was free to be interested in whoever she wanted, but while she might be a genius at solving mysteries, she was really too trusting! What was he going to do if she fell for some kind of scum bag without realizing it?

As her childhood friend, he _definitely_ couldn't allow that.

Still, well... he guessed she had a point. If that Kudo guy really wasn't here, there was no reason he should continue acting like this. Besides, there was a kid here- he might not be good with them, but even _he_ knew you weren't supposed to blow your top around a kid.

Letting his sour expression dissipate, a grin surfaced on his face. "Then, sorry about that, I guess. I thought fer sure that... well, I guess it doesn't matter much now what I thought. I'm Hattori Heiji, by the way. I'm this _idiot's_ childhood friend, regrettably."

"Hah? That should be my line!" Kazuha shot back, the slight tension that had been in her shoulders washing out now that the situation had been defused. Honestly, when she had heard Heiji's voice demanding that they bring out Kudo, for a moment, she thought that the gig was up.

Thankfully, she was wrong, and it was just a misunderstanding on his part- or well... mostly, it was. Kudo wasn't here with them- but that wasn't really true, either, she thought, her gaze briefly falling down towards Conan, who was watching her with slightly narrowed eyes. Okay, perhaps she _had_ been speaking of him a bit too freely- but she didn't think it would have blown up into such a big situation.

Honestly, leave it to Heiji to try and confront the person that she had been speaking so favorably about. If she didn't know any better, it was almost like he was _jealous_.

"Childhood friends, is it?" Her voice now taking an interested tone, Ran perked up right away at this information. "That's just like Shinichi and me, then."

"That's right, Heiji!" Fixing her gaze back up at him, motioning with one hand for him to sit down already, since it didn't look like he had any plans to leave any time soon, Kazuha felt a hint of a smile cross her face. "Kudo-kun is Ran-chan's boyfriend!"

"N-no, it's not like that!" Turning a bright shade of crimson, Ran quickly denied that claim, barely taking notice of the fact that Conan's cheeks had turned a matching color. Honestly, saying such a thing in front of her father!

"She says they're not." Heiji noted, taking the seat next to Kazuha, his gaze briefly flickering down towards the kid that Ran had sat in her lap. Weird kid... he could understand Ran's reason, but why was he so red too?

"That's cause Ran-chan's just shy!" Kazuha told him, her tone rather matter of fact. "More importantly, Heiji, don't tell me that ya've followin' us all this time? How did ya even manage ta keep up with us?"

"Asked Otaki-han fer a favor." Heiji said simply.

"Excuse me for asking, but..." Piping up only now that he was one hundred percent sure the situation was safe, Kogoro couldn't help but frown. "By Hattori, is there you chance that you're related to Osaka's chief of police?"

 _That_ had evidently been a mistake, as Kogoro found himself subject to even a more intense glare than the one the young man had been wearing just before. "He's my old man. Why ya askin'?"

"Ah, no..." Trailing off fore a moment, Kogoro cleared his throat, choosing perhaps wisely to drop the entire conversation there.

Sensing that there was a need to once more defuse the situation, Ran decided that she ought to ask the thing that had been on her mind ever since she had first heard Heiji say Kazuha's name. "By the way, is there any chance the two of you are going out? You should have told me before if you had a boyfriend, Kazuha-chan!"

For a moment, the expression shared between the two childhood friends was exactly the same- a rather dumbfounded one at that, as if such a notion had never once crossed their minds. That was odd... she had been almost certain that Heiji's actions had been born out of jealousy, but maybe she had been wrong?

"No, no, it's nothin' like that!" Kazuha said, waving her hand with a laugh. "Heiji an' I are just childhood friends, like I said earlier. If anythin', I'm like his older sister, always watchin' over him ta make sure he stays out of trouble."

"I don't wanna hear the person who noses her way into murder cases tell me that." Heiji pointed out, quirking a brow. "If there's anyone who needs ta stay out of trouble, it's you. It's _me_ who should be insistin' that ya keep that charm on ya, not the other way around."

"Yer the only one of us who forgets it." Kazuha shot back. "Did ya even properly bring it with ya?"

"Charm?" Ran couldn't help but interrupt, her curiosity piqued.

With a blink, Kazuha turned back towards Ran, reaching into her shirt as she did so to produce a charm. "Yeah, see? I made them when Heiji an' I were in middle school, an' they've been bringing the two of us good luck ever since then. Or well," her gaze flickering back towards Heiji, "...comparatively speakin'."

"Shut up." Grumbling a little at her words, if only because he knew she had a point, Heiji reached into his shirt, pulling out his own charm just to prove to her it was there. "Fer someone who usually goes on an' on about how this sort of thing is fake, I can't believe that ya put so much faith in them."

"I don't want ta hear that from someone who thinks that sorta stuff is _real_." Kazuha retorted. "It's just a comfort, a comfort."

"Comfort ya say." Quirking a brow, Heiji almost looked as if he wanted to say something else for a moment- before he changed his mind. "Well, whatever. Now that I'm here, I might as well stick around. Unless ya got some kinda problem with me comin' with ya, Kazuha."

Sensing that there was something going untold, a slight frown crossed Kazuha's face- before she decided that here wasn't the place. She knew that look in Heiji's eyes, though it had been brief- though she didn't fully believe in it herself, the least she could do was ask him about it later.

"No, no problem. As long as ya behave yerself, Heiji."

"What are ya talkin' about, Kazuha? I'm always on my best behavior!"

* * *

When the body fell from a roof on the front end of the police car that Kazuha had borrowed for their tour of Osaka, Heiji felt something seize within his chest. Were the conditions not wrong, he would have stopped Kazuha from racing up the stairs entirely, and could only breathe a sigh of relief when the figure on the roof turned out to be largely unrelated to the crime.

She noticed, of course she had. She'd known him forever, she knew what the warning signs were. It came as very little surprise to him that the second they had a free moment, she was confronting him about it.

"So? Are ya gonna tell me what it was about?"

The demand was direct and straightforward- leaving no room for him to deny anything. She knew him too damn well for that, knowing that if she gave him an inch, he'd slip through it, avoiding the conversation entirely. He didn't like talking about them- if he talked about them, it almost felt as if they would come true.

But well, seeing as that guy hadn't actually turned up, maybe it wouldn't help to tell her a little bit about it.

Letting out a long sigh, letting a protest about her having an investigation to deal with die on his lips, Heiji glanced down at her. "Fine, fine, ya got me. I had one this morning."

"I guessed that much from the bags underneath yer eyes." Kazuha noted, placing her hands on her hips. "I was askin' what it was _about_ , not if ya had one, Heiji."

"I was _gettin_ ' ta that." Heiji snapped, before letting out another sigh. Reaching a hand behind his neck, he nervously rubbed it, averting his gaze somewhat from hers. "It was about... that guy ya know, that Kudo bastard ya keep talkin' about. He went with ya on some kind of case, an' got himself killed."

"Eh? Kudo-kun did?" Kazuha blinked, a look of alarm crossing her face. "Are ya sure, Heiji? Ya've never even met the guy."

"Yeah, I know, that's why it pisses me off- that I had ta be woken up at two in the morning cause of _him_." Heiji pointed out, quirking a brow. "What are ya lookin' so freaked out fer anyways? Guy's not even here, so I'm probably wrong this time."

"A-ah, yeah, you're right." Kazuha said, nodding her head, trying to school her expression into one of composure. If she slipped up here, there was a chance that he might be able to figure it out. Still, she couldn't help but worry- for Heiji to have a dream like that...

It was true that she didn't put much stock into this sort of thing, but Heiji's dreams had been right before. She couldn't help but be a little nervous now that she had heard that Shinichi was involved with one of them- how was she even going to convince him to be careful? She didn't think he was the type to listen to this sort of thing...

Well, maybe if she just passed it off as worry from a friend, then...

"Oi, Kazuha, ya there?" Heiji asked, his words breaking her out of her thoughts. "Sakata-han's callin' ya. Somethin' about a link between the two victims."

"Ah, right!" Quickly nodding her head, Kazuha put a smile on her face. Well, as long as she kept an eye on him, probably nothing would happen. There was no way that she was going to allow something to happen to him, not while he was here in her hometown! "Then, Heiji, I'll talk ta ya later, okay?"

"Yeah, later." With a curt nod of his head, Heiji tucked his hands into his pockets, watching Kazuha go with a frown. Maybe with just much, the future that he had seen might be averted- and at the very least, this time, Kazuha would be in familiar territory, in the company of police officers that she knew well. As long as she was with them, then...

Then he wouldn't have to worry about seeing her pale, lifeless face appear in reality.

* * *

"So? Why did she take that kid with her?"

"Conan-kun, you mean?" Ran asked, glancing up towards Heiji. "I don't really know, but Kazuha-chan seems to get along with him really well. They're a bit like siblings."

"Well, Kazuha always has been good with kids." Heiji remarked. "What, that kid want ta be a detective himself or somethin' like that?"

"Yeah, something like that." Ran told him. "Back home, he's a member of a group called the Detective Boys. They go around and solve cases together."

"The Detective Boys, huh?" Letting out a slight laugh, one that almost sounded vaguely bitter, Heiji forced a smile onto his face. He didn't have it in him to begrudge a kid's dream, after all. "Shouldn't ya be more worried about him? They're chasin' after a guy who has killed four people now."

"I'm sure it'll be alright." Ran told him, swallowing her own worries. Of course she was concerned, but she didn't think it was right to burden someone who she had just met with her own worries. "Kazuha-chan is with him, right? Sakata-san too. I'm sure neither of them would allow anything to happen to him."

"I guess that's true." Heiji admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Kazuha's amazin' when it comes ta aikido. Ya seen it before?"

"No, not yet." Ran told him, shaking her head, almost relieved that this conversation was going easier than the one that from earlier. When it came down to it, it seemed as if this Hattori Heiji was a rather friendly, the type that was easy to get along with. "She's told me about it though. What about you, Hattori-kun? Do you practice it as well?"

"No." Shaking his head, a broad grin flashed on Heiji's face. "What I practice is kendo. Ya should come down an' see one of my tournaments sometime, Neechan! I can promise that ya won't be disappointed!"

"Then, I'll think about it sometime." Ran told him. "Don't you worry about her though? Kazuha-chan, I mean."

"Of course I worry about that idiot!" Heiji told her frankly. Especially _now_. "But she can handle herself fer the most part. What about ya, though? From the sound of it, yer pretty close with that Kudo guy Kazuha keeps talkin' about."

"Of course I worry about him!" Ran told him. "Especially now that he's off on some case, and won't even tell me what it is that he's up to. But at the very least, I can promise you that Shinichi isn't someone that you need to worry about doing something bad with Kazuha-chan, Hattori-kun."

"Really?" It was clear from his voice that he was thoroughly unconvinced of this, if that much wasn't obvious from his expression already. "I'll decide that fer myself once I finally get ta _meet_ the guy."

* * *

When he'd acted as if he was begging to stay with Kazuha, he'd expected that his fellow high school detective would lend him a hand. Her reaction, suffice to say, did not live up to his expectations.

"Now, now, it's okay!" With a bright smile on her face, Kazuha knelt down in front of him, earning them a little bit of privacy as she did so. "This is Osaka, after all! I know this place like the back of my hand, an' you an' Ran-chan are my guests here. I can't exactly drag ya into this anymore than I already have!"

" _But_ -!" Conan tried to protest, not liking this development one bit. There was no way he wasn't seeing this case through to the end, damnit!

"But nothin'!" Kazuha insisted, her gaze, for a moment, flickering back towards Heiji. Now that it looked like they were closing in on an answer, it would be the safest if Conan went back with the others, and left the rest of the case to her. She did feel a little bad about it, but...

The last thing she wanted was to see him get hurt.

But even if she tried to chase him away, she knew the guy well enough to know that he would just come right back, the first chance that he got. He was stubborn that way- though she supposed he really wasn't one to talk. With that in mind, Kazuha let out a long sigh, her shoulders slumping.

"Yer just gonna come right back first chance ya get, aren't ya?" Kazuha asked frankly, her expression not even shifting as Conan eagerly nodded his head. "Fine, fine. In that case, at the very least, you can take this with ya."

"Take what-?" Conan opened his mouth to ask, quickly shutting it as her actions revealed the answer. Watching as she removed her charm from around her neck, he could only blink as she looped it around his own, carefully tucking it into his hoodie. "Your lucky charm?"

"That's right." Kazuha said, nodding her head. "But don't get me wrong, Kudo-kun. I'm only just lendin' it ta ya! Ya had better make sure ya give it back ta me once this case is over an' done with, okay?"

Slowly nodding his head, sensing that this was a matter he shouldn't press, Conan merely placed a hand over where it had been hidden. There was a strange feeling from it when he pressed his hand against it- was there something in there? It felt a bit like a link of chain, though he didn't understand why such a thing would be there.

"Well then!" Standing up straight before Conan could ask her anymore questions, Kazuha scooped him up, carefully passing him over towards Ran. "Here ya go, Ran-chan! Why don't ya take them back ta yer place, Heiji? Yer mom's makin' one of her specialities tonight, isn't she?"

"Ya sound like it's _easy_ ta feed three extra people on short notice." Letting out a long sigh, Heiji cast a glance over towards the kid, briefly wondering what he had been doing with Kazuha just then. "Well fine, I guess. I'll give her a head's up that we're goin' ta be havin' company tonight. I guess she won't mind that much."

"That's the spirit!" With a bright smile on her face, Kazuha turned back towards Conan, an apologetic look written into it. He was obviously mad at her- not that she could blame him! "Then, I'll see ya later tonight, Conan-kun! Make sure yer mom saves some fer me too, Heiji!"

* * *

He was going to maintain his current opinion on the kid named Edogawa Conan- he was _weird_. No matter how curious they were, most kids wouldn't slip out of the car to follow after a police officer when they knew that there was a chance that a dangerous criminal might be lurking somewhere within the woods.

Most children, he decided, were not Edogawa Conan.

"So does he do this kinda thing often too?" His gaze flickering over towards Ran, Heiji vaguely wished he had the forethought to bring an umbrella with him today. Quite frankly, he'd rather stay in the car- not that _he_ was afraid of the murderer, of course. He was willing to bet that he could take him, push come to shove.

He'd just rather not be out in this downpour, if anything.

"From time to time." Ran admitted, giving him something of an apologetic smile. He seemed a bit grumpy- though she guessed it was understandable. She didn't much care for when her day was interrupted by a murder case either, much less a serial murder case. She was going to guess that as the childhood friend of a high school detective, Heiji very often had to put up with the same thing.

Though, she supposed she really couldn't blame Shinichi for all of the cases that she got mixed up in anymore- he'd never turned back up after that murder case at that diplomat's house. He had called once or twice since then, but she hadn't actually seen him in person since then.

Come to think of it, back then was the first time that she had met Kazuha. She had been surprised, when a pretty girl she didn't know had come to the detective agency, asking where she could find the high school detective, Kudo Shinichi. For a moment, she couldn't help but recall the other time it had happened- but thankfully, she hadn't allowed those jealous feelings to take hold of her this go around.

After all, the first time had turned out to be nothing, so she probably didn't have anything to worry about. It turned out she was right too- Kazuha had never actually met Shinichi before, but had merely decided to look into his disappearance, after noticing that he hadn't been in the papers as often lately. She was a bit glad now- she had been able to make friends with the girl, and now she hoped that she could expand her slowly growing network of friends to include Heiji.

Though he really needed to stop saying such things about Shinichi, if this was really going to work out. That said, she suspected she had an idea as to _why_ he was saying them. He might have denied it himself, but...

"Yeah, that sure _looks_ like a place a serial murderer would hide out in." Heiji noticed, quirking a brow as he glanced up towards the old cabin before them. It looked as if nobody had used it for years, but based on the sound of Otaki's voice that he could just make out from the outside, they had probably found their man.

Good, now they could _go_. He was starting to get a bit hungry himself now.

"Geez!" From the sound of it, that Neechan had found the kid too. As expected, she might try and sound understanding, but in truth, his behavior clearly bothered her. "How many times have I told you not to bother the policemen's work?"

Well, that was that, he guessed. Turning on his heel, Heiji paused for a moment, making out the faint sound of something clattering on the floor, a sound that was followed by a very loud shout.

" _Move it!_ "

It happened in a near blur- the first thing he knew, that serial murderer was pointing the hidden knife towards that Ran girl, and the next, that boy had thrown herself in front of her. Almost certain that he had just witnessed the murder of a small child, Heiji pivoted on his heel, grabbing a nearby stick, knocking the knife out of the man's hands, allowing Otaki to restrain him again.

"Oi, Neechan, is that kid okay-?!" Dropping the makeshift weapon, now broken, Heiji paused mid-sentence, blinking as he watched the child who he was certain had just been stabbed, sit up with a groan. For someone who had just had his little body pierced by steel, he looked to be doing remarkably well.

He couldn't say that he wasn't happy for it- the hell kind of person would enjoy seeing a child killed in from of them? It was what he pulled out from underneath his clothes that caused Heiji's blood to run cold, instantly recognizing it as an object that shouldn't be in his possession. Mentally, his thoughts flashed back towards Kazuha's strange actions when they had parted ways, remembering the way that she had been doing something with the kid at the time.

Had she given him her charm? Why? Sure, it saved his life, but that meant...

No, no, even without it, she would be fine. After all, Sakata was still with her, not to mention the other police officers who had gathered at that guy's place. There was no reason to think that...

Why did that kid have that kind of expression on his face now anyways? All he was doing was looking at a photograph, and yet he was acting as if it was more terrifying a thought than almost being stabbed. Tilting his head, wondering what he was looking at, Heiji's lips twisted in a frown, only able to see it as an old driving school photo for a moment.

If there was one thing that bothered him... didn't that old guy look an awful lot like Sakata?

* * *

She'd been shot.

For a moment, Heiji felt as if his entire world had dropped out from underneath him. Thankfully, the officer on the other end of the line was quick to supply that she had only been shot in the leg, and that she was already on her way to the hospital, and would likely recover.

Still, it could have gone much worse than that. What was she thinking, trying to wrest control of the gun from him like that? He could understand that she didn't want him to kill himself- he'd known Sakata for a number of years now himself, and serial murderer or not, he couldn't say that he wanted the guy to _die_. But still, putting herself into danger like that...

Well, not that he couldn't claim that he wouldn't do something that reckless himself. That didn't mean he couldn't mad at her about it, though.

Especially without her lucky charm... honestly, sometimes he didn't understand what that girl was thinking. The other person that he had seen in his dream had been Kudo Shinichi- so why had she given it to that weird glasses wearing kid? Well, even that had turned out alright, but still...

"Heiji, ya listenin'?" Kazuha's voice snapping him out of his thoughts, Heiji glanced up, knowing that the expression on his face give away the fact that he hadn't been right away. She didn't even _need_ deductive reasoning for that one.

"Ya weren't, were ya?" Kazuha asked, narrowing her eyes. "Yer still sulkin', aren't ya?"

" _Idiot_ , I'm not sulkin'!" Heiji protested, even though he knew full well he _was_. "After all that fussin' ya do about me not leavin' behind my charm, ya go an' give it away ta someone else. Honestly, yer an incredible woman, an' I'm not sure I mean that in a good way."

"I'll take it as a compliment regardless." Kazuha said lightly. He was as angry as he looked, she knew that much- he was just covering for how worried he was about her with it. For someone who was usually straight-forward, he played it awfully close to the vest with these sorts of things. "But isn't it a good thing that I did? Because of that, Conan-kun didn't get hurt."

"Well, I'll give ya that." Heiji noted with a shrug, leaning back in his chair. "But it's weird... I thought fer sure the one in my dream was that Kudo guy. So why did that kid get stabbed instead?" Rubbing the back of his neck, his frown deepened. "It's almost like he's that guy's replacement or somethin'."

"W-well, does it really matter?" Kazuha nervously asked. "More importantly, Heiji, what happened ta that apple ya were peelin' fer me? What's a girl gotta do ta get some service around here?"

"I don't see why ya can't peel it yerself." Heiji muttered, picking the apple back up. "Ya hurt yer leg, not yer dang hands."

"Just shut up an' peel, _idiot_."


	2. Intermission 1: Father and Son

**AN** : Oh hey, here I am, back at it again with this AU! Alongside the actual cases, I will be publishing shorter intermission chapters in between each one, such as this one! They will, of course, touch on their own things, because there's just so much to explore in this universe that exists outside the bounds of the altered canon cases!

As always, thanks for reading! Leave a review if you can!

* * *

 **In Reverse**

 **Intermission One**

 **Father and Son**

* * *

"I hear that you got yourself mixed up with that serial murderer, Heiji."

All but freezing at the sound of his father's words, Heiji bit his tongue to keep himself from lashing out in response to them at once. He'd known that they would come sooner or later. Instead, he forced himself to draw in a long breath, trying to steady himself before he turned his father's way, only vaguely wondering since when he had gotten home.

"If ya want ta complain, shouldn't ya be sayin' that ta Kazuha?" Heiji asked, leaning back in his chair, doing his best to look as unperturbed as possible by the man's presence. "She's the one who got _shot_ , after all."

"Kazuha is not my child." Heizo said firmly, eyes locking with those of his son's the moment Heiji turned his way. "I will leave that matter up to her own father."

"So what? Ya come ta lecture me again?" Narrowing his eyes, Heiji forced himself to keep his temper in check, knowing that it wouldn't do him any good right now. "Fer all ya know, things might have turned out worse if I hadn't been there. Ya heard how he stabbed the kid, right?"

"I did hear about that." Heizo noted, his expression, as always, unchanging. That was the most frustrating part about him for Heiji- no matter how hard he tried, he could never tell what the man was thinking. "However, there's no reason that you should have stepped in. Police work is no place for amateurs to butt in."

His father, the chief of police for the entire Osaka prefecture. His father, admired by his fellow police, and feared by criminals. His father, whose approval he would never have. His father, whose shadow it seemed that he would never be able to escape from. His father, whose shadow he had already given up trying to break free of.

"Like I said, ya should be tellin' _Kazuha_ that sort of thing, not me." He could put on an act of dismissing the man's words all he liked, making a show of breaking eye contact with him, giving him an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders. In truth, he wouldn't be able to let them go that easily- and he knew that his father probably knew that much himself.

If it wasn't for him...

If it weren't for his damn _shadow_ , then-!

"After all, she's the one runnin' around doin' that _high school detective_ thing, not me." Heiji noted, making a show of turning his attention back towards his magazine. "Even landed herself in the hospital, tryin' ta keep Sakata-han from offin' himself. That _idiot_."

"You could have gotten yourself just as badly hurt, Heiji." Heizo said simply. "And I'm not done with you yet, boy. Don't avert your gaze from me."

"Ya might not be done with me, but s' far as I'm concerned, I'm already done with this talk." Heiji said simply, turning the page of his magazine, only casting a disinterested glance towards him. "Besides, it's not like I went ta that mountain cabin _intendin_ ' ta pick a fight with a serial murderer. It just sorta happened that way, s' all."

"Besides, what are sayin' old man?" Pausing to glance back at him again, Heiji's eyes narrowed. "That I should have just sat by an' let him swing his knife around? Kid was damn _lucky_ that the knife got caught like it did, otherwise he would've gotten off much worse than a bit of a bruise."

He still didn't understand what Kazuha's reason was for giving the kid her charm, but if she hadn't, he might be dead by now.

"It was _yer_ cops that let him get the knife in the first place, anyways." Unable to help himself, Heiji let a smirk cross his face, a challenging expression in his eyes even though he knew full well what was like to result from it. "Ya should be _thankin_ ' this amateur, if anythin'."

"Had you not left the car with Kazuha's guest, the situation would have not occurred in the first place." Heizo said simply, his stern expression not faltering in the slightest. That was his father for you... a man whose feathers couldn't be ruffled by anything, the perfect police officer.

Someone that he could never compare to, no matter how hard he tried. And if he couldn't, what point was there in even trying?

Too quick tempered, too hotblooded, too impulsive, too _reckless_ \- he'd heard any number of reasons already as to why he was such a disappointment in comparison to his father. Over and over, he'd heard them, to the point where he'd all but memorized them, words resounding in his head whether he wanted to or not. Too unlike his father, they said- and sometimes, when they thought he couldn't hear them, they'd even go so far as to wonder if they were _really_ father and son.

Everyone expected things from Hattori Heizo's son. Nobody expected anything from _him_. To these people, he'd never be anything more than an extension of his father- and a lousy one at that. He was too much of _Hattori Heiji_ , and far too _little_ of Hattori Heizo. And that, apparently, was a bad thing.

What use was it then, trying to impress them? It was just a waste of energy.

"That Neechan's the one who left in the first place, ya know, not me!" Heiji noted, unable to bite back his anger this time. "I just followed her ta make sure she wouldn't get lost. Honestly, it's like ya _try_ an' make everythin' out ta be my fault!"

"I can see you're not in the mood to have a reasonable conversation." The first hint of emotion that escaped him was the faintest of sighs- and the sound of it was enough to make Heiji's blood boil.

 _Reasonable conversation_? He was the one who had come to him, and had started saying things like this!

"We shall continue this discussion later, Heiji." Heizo informed him. "I hope at the very least, you properly saw Kazuha's guests off in her place."

"I can at least do _that_ right." Heiji half-growled. "Shouldn't ya be goin'? I'm sure ya've got people ta arrest or somethin' like that."

For a moment, Heizo merely lingered in the doorway, half giving Heiji the impression that he was going to say something again. Instead, the man merely closed his eyes, and without another word, turned on his heel and left.

"Damn old man." Muttering to himself, Heiji slammed his magazine down on the desk, kicking his chair away from it to create some distance. He was hardly in the mood to sit still right now, not after taking all of that- he hadn't even done anything wrong!

But it seemed like no matter _what_ he did, there was nothing he could that would ever win his father's approval. He might not come out and say it, but he probably viewed him the same way as everyone else- as a disappointing failure of a son. If he was just going to be viewed that way in the first place, there was no reason to bother to even try and be anything more than that.

Grabbing the keys for his motorcycle off of his desk, Heiji shoved his wallet and his phone in his pocket. For now, he just wanted to get as far away as possible from here- it would probably only just earn him another lecture later, but for the time being, he didn't care one bit.

As long as he could get away from here, and from the expectations that he'd completely failed to live up to, what came later didn't even matter.


	3. The Night Before the Wedding Locked Room

**AN** : As promised, the next case! Mostly with this story, I'm trying to touch on what would be different to the point of being noteworthy, rather than try and tackle rewriting the case as a whole. So here we are, with the next proper chapter! After this will be another intermission chapter, and then the Grey Planner case, so look forward to it!

Until next time!

* * *

 **In Reverse 2**

 **The Night Before the Wedding Locked Room Case**

* * *

"You're sulking, aren't you?"

"W-what are ya talkin' about!?" Looking startled at the question, Heiji quickly moved to deny any such thing. "Of course I'm not! Why would I be sulkin'?"

It wasn't that he was the least bit annoyed that his plan to lure that Kudo Shinichi guy out had failed once again. He had thought _for sure_ if they called Ran out to come and pick them up at the station upon arriving Tokyo, that the Kudo guy would have shown up with her, but it would appear that he was wrong. The only people who had come alongside Ran was that mustached geezer, and that weird glasses kid.

Who had, incidentally, been hogging all of Kazuha's attention ever since they had gotten here. For some reason, it bothered him. He knew that Kazuha was good with kids, but what did she even see in a brat like that anyways? He wasn't the least bit cute!

"You are!" Ran insisted, unable to keep the bright smile off of her face. "Kazuha-chan told me, you know. About your plan to try and trick Shinichi into showing his face here."

"I don't know what ya mean!" Folding his arms in front of his chest, Heiji averted his eyes from her, doing a splendidly bad job at lying. "I don't care about that idiot high school detective one bit!"

"Which one do you mean by that? Shinichi? Or perhaps Kazuha-chan?" Ran couldn't help but ask. Really now... even when he wasn't being honest, he really couldn't help but _be_ honest. He might deny it, but it was written all over his face- his jealousy, that was.

"What does it matter, which one I mean?" Heiji asked, daring to glance back in Ran's direction and instantly regretting it. What was that look on her face for? Was she making fun of him?

Honestly, he really didn't get this Neechan sometimes.

"It matters a lot!" Ran insisted, nodding her head. "You like her, don't you? Kazuha-chan, that is."

"Ya said somethin' like that before too, but lemme tell ya right now, I don't think of Kazuha that way." Heiji insisted, as he turned his gaze back outside the car window, eyes narrowing a little as he caught sight of Kazuha and that kid exchanging some words with each other. What was so much fun about talking with a kid anyways?

"Then, if you don't think of her that way, why are you so upset about Shinichi?" Ran asked, tilting her head. "It seems an awful lot to me like you're jealous, Hattori-kun."

" _Je_ -" Sputtering a little, Heiji's face betrayed him, turning a bright red color at her words as he turned to look at her. "I'm not! I just wanna make sure that Kazuha's not hangin' around some kinda weirdo, that's all!"

"Besides, I don't see what's so great about the guy anyways!" Leaning back in the car seat, Heiji's brows furrowed together, an irritated expression on his face. "He didn't come ta visit her even once while she was in the hospital. From the way she talks about him, it sounds like the two of 'em are friends, but what kinda lousy bum friend doesn't come visit ya after ya've been _shot_?"

"Well that's..." Trailing off for a moment, Ran had to admit, Heiji _did_ have a bit of a point. Even if it had just been in the leg, the fact remained that Kazuha had been shot- and had the scar to show for it now, too. "I'm sure Shinichi was just busy with a case. He can't even come see me that often, so..."

"What's so interestin' about cases anyways?" Heiji muttered, once more averting his eyes from her- this time for a different reason than before, Ran sensed. "Ya'd think after the case Kazuha might think twice about detective work, but she's just as gung-ho as it as she usually is."

"That's just how they are." Ran told him simply, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't really understand it myself either."

"Hmm." Not looking entirely convinced by such a half hearted explanation, Heiji could only let out a small sigh. "Well whatever, I guess. No point in sulkin' over it, I guess."

"Ah, so you _were_ sulking!"

"...shut up."

* * *

"Ah, he's lookin' this way again."

"Hattori-kun, you mean?" Following Kazuha's gaze, Conan could only frown, just barely catching the person in question looking away from them. "You're right."

"That's the fifth time already." Kazuha observed, her smile growing somewhat amused. "Do ya think he's jealous or somethin'?"

"Considering that he stormed in during the middle of our tour demanding to know where _Kudo Shinichi_ was, I'd say he's jealous." Conan noted, merely lifting a brow, not missing the way that Kazuha briefly flinched at his words, averting her eyes. "But not of me. I'm just a kid, after all!"

"Nah, he's probably jealous." Kazuha noted, glancing back Heiji's way again.

"Of a kid?" Conan asked, unable to help but sound a bit skeptical. "I thought you said that you weren't even interested in him that way, Kazuha-chan."

"I'm not, I'm not!" Kazuha said quickly, the hurried nature of her response leaving room for skepticism. He was starting to get the impression that perhaps there was a bit more going on between the two than either was willing to let on- or perhaps they had both simply failed to notice the nature of their own feelings. "I just think it's kinda funny, really. That he'd be jealous of me talkin' ta what he thinks is a kid."

Well, he had gotten a bit of a weird idea planted in his head after the last time, but it was better not to tell Conan about that. It would pass in time- or rather, even if it didn't, she doubted Heiji would arrive at the truth. His mind could work in awfully strange ways at times.

Either way, it was probably nothing to worry about.

" _Funny's_ not really the word that I would use to describe it." Conan pointed out, turning his gaze back towards the car, a slight frown crossing his face as he watched the occupants of it enjoy a conversation between the other. It wasn't as if he thought Heiji was any kind of threat, or anything like that- but seeing things like that only really served to remind him that he couldn't be in that place himself, right now.

It left something of a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Does he _always_ try to challenge boys who spend time around you to fights?" He couldn't help but ask. Hopefully by the time he returned to his real body for good, he'd be over such feelings. Given the way he seemed to be hitting it off with Ran, he could only assume that they would be seeing much more of him in the future.

"Not always." Kazuha said, shaking her head. "Actually, this is the first time, come ta think of it. He always does get kinda grumpy when it's someone he doesn't know, though, but he's never actually tried ta fight them, or anythin' that. But I'm sure he's not serious about that, Kudo-kun, so ya don't have ta worry!"

"No, I think he's plenty serious." Conan dryly remarked. "More importantly, did you two really only come out here just for a wedding?"

"Really, really." Kazuha reassured him, giving him a smile. "I'm sure nothin' like last time will happen again. My luck's not normally that bad." Pausing for a moment, she let her gaze drift once more, her expression speaking volumes. " _My_ luck, at least."

"Ah." Simply leaving it at that, Conan merely cast another glance back towards Heiji, lips twisting in a tight frown.

Come to think of it, they had only gotten involved in that case _after_ Heiji had appeared.

* * *

In so far as keeping secrets went, Toyama Kazuha was not precisely terrible at it. For the most part, she managed to keep careful track of what she said, and aside from that one time, generally was able to keep track of what to call him. Putting aside the fact that she had spoken a little more freely about Kudo Shinichi than he would have liked within private circles, she was mostly quite good at it, in fact.

 _Mostly_.

"Well? How does it feel to be the great detective of the Heisei Era?"

"It's incredible for me too! My cases are solved so easily, like in a dream..."

That loud snort that Kazuha let out in response to his words was anything but subtle. Though she'd tried to cover it up with her hand, that had only served to draw more attention to it, in the form of an assortment of odd looks from around the table. Sending her the best glower that he could manage under the circumstances, Conan took some small satisfaction in the way she paled at it.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." Holding up a hand, Kazuha let out something of an awkward laugh. "I just remembered a funny joke I heard the other day, that's all. Don't mind me!"

For the most part, the occupants of the table seemed to buy the excuse, and the topic had changed rather quickly. Heiji's gaze had lingered on Kazuha for a moment longer than those of others, a slight frown on his face, before he too, seemed to brush it off.

This guy might actually be slightly more perceptive than he had first thought- he would have to be a bit careful, in that case. His type was the last type that he wanted his secret to be known to- he couldn't imagine anything good would come of it.

Well, Kazuha was probably right. Only she and Heiji would be spending the night here, after all- he'd be going back home with Ran and Kogoro after dinner was over. Since nothing had happened yet, he doubted anything would at this point- especially after the fiance in question finally showed himself.

For the time being, he could take it easy.

Which would be easier, were he not seated right next to someone who had very blatantly expressed an intent to fight him the last time they'd met. It was one of the very few times in which he'd found himself grateful that he wasn't, well, _himself_ at the moment.

* * *

While he wasn't one normally to believe in jinxes, perhaps that was the best way to describe the events that had unfolded. He'd been certain, _so certain_ , that nothing was going to happen this time- only to be proven wrong in the span of an instant.

The sound of shattering glass had brought with it an ill omen. Sure enough, not only was the butler of the family nowhere to be found, but they also had a locked room to deal with- one that turned out to have a corpse inside. It was of none other than the missing butler, a man by the name of Shigematsu Akio, who appeared to have been rather well acquainted with Heiji.

He'd been stabbed in the chest, and the murder weapon in question was nowhere to be found. A locked room case- and a rather annoying one at that. The fact that they had to put up with the annoying attitude of the son didn't help matters at all- even if his own actions had lead them to a clue that they might have missed otherwise.

"Maybe that story's true, then?"

"Story?" Kazuha asked, peering up towards Heiji, only briefly wondering when he had gotten there. Conan had been a bit more startled by his sudden appearance- not that she could blame him, Heiji didn't seem like the type to move quietly when he wanted to. "What story, Heiji?"

"Somethin' my mom told me once." Folding his arms in front of his chest, Heiji cocked his head in the direction of the retreating form of Sakuraba. "I overheard Morizono-han just a second ago askin' if he could start the burial arrangements fer Shigematsu-han. Said somethin' about buryin' him near his wife."

"So? What's that got ta do with anythin'?" In spite of words, it was clear from her tone that the story had nevertheless piqued her interest. Heiji had come here quite a few times as a child, from the sound of it, so there was a chance that what he might say could prove to be useful.

Since he was a child, though... she supposed she was grateful that nothing had been said that would have caused his temper to flare during dinner. Be it good luck or sensitivity, she'd rather not have to handle dealing with one of Heiji's moods on top of solving a case. Those two things _never_ mixed well.

"I'm gettin' ta that." Heiji grumbled. "Honestly, here I am tryin' ta help ya out a little, an' ya gripe at me."

Ah, so he _was_ in a bit of a mood after all, Kazuha noted, merely letting out a sigh. Well, she couldn't say that she didn't expect it. Generally speaking, Heiji hated being around crime scenes, so she guessed it was only natural that he'd be a little more testy than usual. "Yes, yes, finish yer story already Heiji. I want ta hurry up an' go back ta check out the crime scene already."

There was a slight pause there, before Heiji frowned, turning slightly on his heel. "If those two are really in love with each other, then it'd be the same as in the past. Apparently the one that Morizono-han's wife always came ta see wasn't him, but Shigematsu-han. He just got the wrong idea, an' thought that she was comin' here ta see him instead, an' ended up proposin' ta her."

"Well, he probably figured it out afterwards, though." Heiji added with a slight shrug. "I guess it's what they say about history repeatin' itself."

"Yer right, it is similar." Kazuha noted, exchanging a brief glance with Conan. She got the feeling that the matching pendants weren't entirely unrelated to the case at hand, and she was pretty sure he felt the same way.

"Right?" His grin only momentarily shifting at the way that Kazuha and Conan exchanged looks, Heiji tucked his hands into his pockets. As he thought, that kid really was weird- he'd been following Kazuha around like a shadow the entire time. For that matter, he didn't seem all that disturbed by the appearance of a corpse either.

Come to think of it, it had been the same way the last time too. Not to mention, what kind of kid just dove in to take a knife for someone by instinct like that?

Edogawa Conan, apparently.

* * *

"I don't think it's gonna work, Kudo-kun."

"No, we can't say that yet, Kazuha-chan." Conan noted, peering down over the balcony, trying to more or less eyeball the distance between it, and the one below. "That's why you're going to test it, to find out."

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Kazuha told him, shaking her head. "I know ya asked me ta do it seein' as yer a little short on height," and unable to help herself, she let out a faint snort there, "...but I'm not all that tall myself, all things considered. The only suspect I have the same reach as is Kaede-san."

Glowering slightly at the short comment, Conan nevertheless recognized that she did have something of a point there. If her arms weren't long enough to reach what she needed to in order to get the balcony below them, then rope or not, doing the experiment might actually put her in danger. Needless to say, he didn't want that.

"We still need to test it somehow, though." Conan pointed out, a tight frown on his face. This did complicate things a bit. "I'm not sure how much luck we'd have in convincing Uncle to try it. If I asked Detective Takagi, maybe..."

"Ah, there's no need fer that." Kazuha said, holding up a hand. "If it's just someone with longer arms than me, I got the perfect person in mind."

"Who?" Blinking a little, Conan looked up at her, slowly catching her drift as he did. "You can't be talking about-?"

"Yeah. Heiji'll do it if I ask him too." Kazuha told him, nodding her head.

"There's no way he'd actually just-"

* * *

"Fine, I'll do it."

He stood corrected, apparently. From the way he had grumbled about it at first, he'd been almost certain that Heiji was going to turn her down- but apparently, he'd be wrong, and she'd been right.

Well, they _were_ childhood friends, after all, and he, on the other hand, had only just met the guy- and barely, at that. He got the feeling that Heiji was trying to avoid situations in which the two of them would be alone together. Judging from the vibe he gave off, he was pretty sure it had to do with him being fully aware of the fact that he wasn't really all that great with children.

"Thanks a bunch, Heiji!" Clapping her hands together, Kazuha smiled brightly at him. "I promise I'll pay ya back later. We'll go get some takoyaki at yer favorite place when we get back home, my treat!"

"Ya don't need ta _treat_ me, Kazuha." Gaze flickering slightly away from that of her own, Heiji's eyes narrowed. "I mean, it's not the _weirdest_ thing ya've ever asked me ta do."

Conan couldn't help but take a bit of interest in his body language- all the more so since it was more subtle than what he had started to become accustomed to seeing from the dark skinned Osakan. Just like the rest of him, his body language was generally boisterous and easy to read, even by someone who had only just met him, but this felt... almost considerably more schooled.

It... bothered him a little, actually.

"I'll do it anyways!" Kazuha insisted, her tone leaving very little room for further argument. "Then, I'll head outside so I can watch from the ground with Ran-chan. Do ya think ya can watch things up here fer me, Conan-kun?"

"Sure!" Deciding to put it out of his mind for the moment, Conan nodded his head. If there was something going on between the two of them, he supposed it wasn't really any of his business. "Leave it to me, Kazuha-neechan!"

"Oi, yer not seriously havin' the _kid_ watch my rope, are ya?" Suddenly turning a shade paler, Heiji almost looked as if he was reconsidering his offer. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"It'll be fine, Heiji!" Kazuha almost chirped, a bright smile on his face. "Conan-kun's the reliable type! Ya might be able ta learn a thing or two from him yerself, really."

"He's _five_." Heiji protested.

"Six." Conan quickly clarified. "I'm _six_."

* * *

"No way!"

In hindsight, he should have guessed that Kazuha would have more than a few problems with the idea. She was the daughter of a police detective, something that seemed to come hand in hand with a strong sense of justice. It was to be expected that she had more than a few issues with a tactic that involved accusing an innocent man.

"I'm against it, Kudo-kun!" Shaking her head, ignoring the few drops of rain that managed to find their way through the canopy of the tree, Kazuha gripped the branch tightly. "Sure, we're lackin' proof, but there must be some other way than ta just waltz into the trap that bastard set up!"

"I get what you mean, but..."

"If ya want ta do somethin' like that, yer on yer own, Kudo-kun." He already somewhat understood as much, but as he thought, Kazuha could be rather scary when she was angry. Combined with her stubborn nature, arguing with her on the matter might be pointless. "I'll help ya corner the guy afterwards, but there's _no way_ I'm doin' somethin' like that!"

She'd already done something very much the same by mistake, and it had left a sour taste in her mouth ever since then. There was _no way_ she was going to fall for such a trap the second time- even giving the appearance of doing so was enough to make her skin crawl. Besides, if the motive was what she thought it was, then there was no way she was going to take part in giving that bastard even a fraction of satisfaction about his plan working.

Even if he said they would tell the police beforehand that they were trying to lure the real culprit into a trap, it just didn't sit right with her.

"I get it, Kazuha-chan. I won't make you do it." Conan told her. There was no point in butting heads over something like this, and he wasn't about to force someone to do something they were so very clearly against. "I'll just use uncle for it."

It would be a little bit of an annoyance, but he didn't want to force her to do anything that she was clearly uncomfortable with. Though she wasn't saying it in so many words, it was clear that her miss from before, from the first time that they met each other, was still bothering her.

"Then, thanks." Kazuha said after a moment. She was grateful that he had listened to her, stubborn as she knew she was being, but it wasn't as if she wasn't aware that she was putting him out, at least a little. "An' sorry, Kudo-kun."

"It's fine." Quick to reassure her, Conan glanced downwards again. "We'd better hurry up and get out of this tree though. I get the feeling if we stay up here any longer, Ran's going to come up to get us."

"I'm amazed that she even let ya climb it in the first place, given what just happened."

"The only reason I'm even _up_ here is that she couldn't catch me first."

* * *

"In the end, it's like we came all the way out her fer nothin'."

"Don't say that, Heiji." Shoving her bag in the overhead compartment, Kazuha firmly closed it behind her, sliding into the seat next to Heiji. "It's a good thing we came! If we hadn't, the police might have arrested the wrong man."

"They sure as heck seemed ta be in a hurry ta." Heiji muttered, turning his head to look out the train window, brows furrowing. "Can't believe it was all part of a trap ya set up that mustached uncle. Doesn't seem like yer kind of thing, Kazuha."

"It wasn't _my_ idea." Kazuha pointed out, folding her arms in front of her chest. "I would have preferred somethin' more direct myself! But as it stood, we had no evidence, an' everythin' we did have pointed ta Sakuraba-han."

"Hmm." Gaze flickering back towards her, Heiji frowned a bit. "Well, whatever. Since it all worked out in the end, I guess it's fine. Still, I gotta say, I didn't think the _sleepin_ ' part was so dang literal. It thought that old man was asleep fer real!"

Biting back a comment that he was, in fact, fast asleep, Kazuha merely let out a laugh instead. She didn't really care for lying to Heiji like this, but if it was to keep a secret for someone else, she'd put up with it. "Right? It surprised me the first time too!"

"Guys gonna get himself killed someday, if he keeps dozin' off at crime scenes." Heiji muttered, leaning back in his chair, letting out something of a loud yawn.

"He's not actually sleepin', Heiji, I just said as much." Kazuha told him, frowning a little. "An' that sounds like somethin' yer father would say, not you. Did somethin' happen?"

"Nothin'." Turning his head to look out the window again, Heiji tried to ignore the expression he saw on Kazuha's face, cast in reflection. "Shigematsu-han just said some stuff, that's all."

" _Heiji_ -" Opening her mouth to say something, Kazuha quickly shut it, withdrawing her words.

Learn when to pick your battles, someone had told her once. It was advice that had nothing at all to do with Heiji, but she often found it applied. She'd bicker with him about all sorts of things, but speaking of this topic now, right here, she knew, was very likely not to end well. There would be a time when she could broach the subject with him- but now wasn't it.

She just wanted him to understand already that it hadn't been his fault.


	4. Intermission 2: Father and Daughter

**AN** : Well, as I said, here's the next intermission chapter, I guess. I have to admit, I wasn't really that pumped to write this- not because of the content, because I did enjoy exploring the relationship between Kazuha and her father more, something we don't really get to see in canon, but because of well... the last chapter getting no reviews at all, after nearly five weeks. That'll take the wind out of just about anyone's sails! It was more than a little disappointing, to say the least, especially as it stretched on and on... it's the sort of thing that makes you feel like nobody cares about what you're writing at all.

Well, anyways, that's that. Hopefully maybe I won't have to deal with that twice in a row, though the amount of reviews that I've been getting overall on fic seem to have dipped to an all time low lately, ahahaha. Regardless, the next canon case that will be covered is the Gray Planner case, so look forward to that, I guess?

Until next time.

* * *

 **In Reverse**

 **Intermission Two** : Father and Daughter

* * *

"Kazuha, can I speak with you for a moment?"

"It's not about what happened in Tokyo the other day, is it?" Glancing up from her notebook, Kazuha gave her father a small smile, setting aside her pen. "It's not like I _meant_ ta set out an' find a case."

"No, it has nothing to do with that." Returning his daughter's smile, Toyama Ginshiro took that as his signal that he could enter her room. "Or perhaps it's a bit connected to that, actually, now that I think about it. Did something happen while you were gone with Heiji?"

"A murder case." Kazuha stated bluntly. "But I'm guessin' that's not what ya meant."

"No, that part I knew already." Ginshiro noted. "And I am proud of you, by the way. From what I understand, he was a friend of Shizuka's, the victim."

"Heiji, too, a bit." Kazuha noted, pushing her chair away from her desk, spinning it to face her father. "I think that's part of the reason why he's kinda in a mood lately. Apparently he used ta visit that place when he was still real little, with his mom."

"So you've noticed, then." Ginshiro noted, before he shook his head. "Well, I suppose that's only natural, given how close the two of you are."

There was a slightly teasing note in her father's voice that made Kazuha's lips curl, but she wasn't about to give him what he wanted there. Sometimes he could be awfully easy to read, that father of hers. She knew full well that he was rather fond of the idea of the two of them getting together, as something other than just friends, but for her part...

Well, for her part, she didn't know what she thought about that. Sure, she cared about Heiji a lot, and he was an important friend, annoying as he could be, but as for being in love with him... she didn't know about that.

She _did_ appreciate his damn fine muscles, though, but she was pretty sure that wasn't the same thing as _love_. Kendo sure could do a world of favors for a guy, that much was for sure. And it wasn't as if the only reason why she always went to the bike shop that he worked at part time for repairs on hers was because she hoped to catch a glimpse of them there! They just had good customer service, that was all!

...okay, maybe there was a bit of something there after all. Still, she wasn't sure if it was what she could call _romantic love_ or not, though.

"It's hard ta miss when he's in one of his moods." Kazuha noted. "When he's not bein' more snappy than usual, he gets all quiet, an' that's just creepy! Being contemplative isn't like him at all."

"Well, I'm sure he must have a lot of things on his mind." Ginshiro noted, letting out a slight laugh at the way his daughter's cheeks puffed out. "In any case, that was why I wanted to ask if anything more had happened. I know Heiji doesn't care for dealing with crime scenes..." and for a moment, he let his words hang, something unspoken in between the silence, "...but his mood seems worse than usual this time."

"I just think it's because it was someone he knew." Kazuha told him, a more serious expression crossing her face. "As a kid, at that."

"...I see." Sensing what she hadn't said out loud, Ginshiro closed his eyes, drawing in a long breath. Things had certainly changed since then, so if careless words had been spoken... it was no wonder he was acting the way he was right now. "In that case, I might have just the solution."

"Eh?" Blinking a little, Kazuha couldn't help but give her father something of a skeptical look. "The last time ya said that, I ended up havin' ta deal with a double homicide, ya know."

"I'm sure that won't happen again." Ginshiro told her, an edge of doubt to his voice that he couldn't entirely conceal. On her own, Kazuha didn't generally run into that sort of thing- most of the cases that she got involved with were ones that she was requested to help solve. But when she was together with Heiji... well, things were usually different then. He was starting to suspect that the boy had ticked off some kind of god in his past life.

"They're from your mother, at any rate." Ginshiro continued, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the pair of tickets. "She won them in a raffle at the shopping street. She told me to pass them on to you."

"From mom?" Taking them from her father, Kazuha checked him over. "Oh, amusement park tickets! But are ya sure, dad? The two of ya haven't had a date night in awhile, ya know~?"

If he was going to tease her, then teasing him back would be fair game! Or at least, that's what she would like to say, but of course, her words didn't faze him at all. Adults could be so unfair.

"You know amusement parks can be a bit difficult for your mother." Ginshiro told her. "While you and Heiji are enjoying yourselves there, I'll take her out to a nice dinner and a movie instead."

"Well, that's good, then..." Trailing off a little, Kazuha pursed her lips together. It would probably be for the best not to mention to Heiji that it had been her mother who had won the tickets. That would ruin the whole point of going there in the first place. "Then, in that case, I'll take them."

"That's the spirit. Well then, I'll leave you to your homework, Kazuha." Ginshiro told her, taking a step back. "Make sure to tell us when you plan on going, though. You should probably go ahead and tell Shizuka in Heiji's place, you know how he is about telling people his plans."

"...ya've got a point there." Kazuha admitted, giving her father a small smile. "Then, thanks, dad. Thank mom too fer me when ya pick her up later."

"I will." Ginshiro told her. "Well then, study hard!"

Letting out a breath as her father closed the door behind him, Kazuha felt her shoulders slump, as she turned back around in her chair. Gazing down at the tickets in her hand, she pulled her legs up onto the chair, another sigh escaping from her. Free tickets to the amusement park were good and all, but given the circumstances, she'd rather not have them at all.

"Well, there's no point in wastin' them now that I've got them." Kazuha noted, pulling her chair forward and dropping her feet back down again. Pulling out her cellphone, she leaned back in her chair as she listened to the sound of the phone ringing.

"Oh, Heiji? Ya got any plans this Sunday?"


	5. The Symphony Serial Murder Case

**AN** : Here we are again, with the next case covered by the roleswap! It is, of course, the case in which Heiji got shoved into the hecking ocean in canon, always a fun thing! To those of you who came out during the last intermission to review, I really, really appreciate it! Since this case had a large portion in which Heiji was missing in canon, I tried to make up for it by adding in quite a few extra scenes, in order to avoid it being too short. I think it came out pretty well, in my opinion!

As always, until next time!

* * *

 **In Reverse**

 **The Twenty Year Old Murderous Intent: The Symphony Serial Murder Case**

* * *

Air.

It was the realization that there was none that sent him into a panic. As he gasped for it, water rushed into his lungs, the presence of it's crushing pressure around him only now making itself known.

It was in that instant, as he found himself gasping for what was not there, that he realized that this was most likely a dream. In doing so, the water which had sunk into his lungs expelled itself all at once, leaving him coughing, hacking, but able to breathe. This dream, he dimly realized, was not about himself.

As he caught a glimpse of flowing hair, caught in the dim light of the moon that penetrated the water's surface, he felt a surge of fear that was more powerful and more intense than it ever would have been had the dream simply been about himself. The dark brown color of that hair, the ribbon that broke free in the flowing current...

Though he knew it was merely a dream, he found himself reaching out for her anyways. But as if it were a fate that he couldn't change, no matter how far he stretched out his hand, it simply wouldn't reach, as she instead sunk further and further down into the ocean, a yearning pit underneath longing to become her final resting place.

It was only as their eyes met, the deep green piercing through the darkness of the waters, that he jolted awake from his nightmare. He was drenched, not from sinking into the ocean, but from his own cold sweat, his heart hammering loudly inside of his chest. Swallowing, he placed a hand over it, trying to draw in breath, finding it just as hard to do so as if he were actually drowning.

Slowly though, the pounding of his heart settled, and he forced himself to draw in one, long breath. Swinging his feet out of bed, he reached for his cellphone, already dialing Kazuha's number.

 _The number you have dialed is-_.

Not even letting the automated message finish, Heiji changed out of his pajamas at almost a lightning pace, barely even pausing to grab his shoes and keys. Dimly, he could hear his mother's voice calling out to him as he made for the door, but he didn't stop to chat with her, the grip of fear in his chest too tight.

When he had dreamed about Kazuha being shot the other day, he had been worried, of course. But that dream had been different than this one.

She hadn't looked at him.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get that sight out of his eyes. In the back of his mind, a part of him knew that Kazuha would never be the type to blame others, but the silent message that had been carried in them as they dimmed into lifelessness was enough to make his blood run cold.

 _This is_ _ **your**_ _fault_.

Whether the coming future really was the result of his actions, he didn't know- but even if it wasn't, it wasn't something that he would just idly sit by and allow happen. Once and for all, he would-!

"Heiji?" Until Kazuha's father spoke to him, he frankly hadn't even been aware that he had already made it to her house, much less knocked on her door. He must have though, acting purely out of instinct, if nothing else. For a moment, his head went blank, almost forgetting why it was that he came here.

Then he remembered, and fought back a shudder.

It might seem silly, to put so much faith into mere dreams- but they'd never proven to be wrong before.

"Is Kazuha around?" Heiji asked, only now half considering the fact that he probably looked like a mess. He'd taken the time to change, but he hadn't so much as taken a brush to his hair, leaving it to stick out in every direction, and upon second glance, he was actually wearing two different pairs of sneakers.

Composure, he supposed, was not really an option.

What time was it even, he found himself wondering. Usually he was the type to wake up before the crack of dawn, but the sun was already high overheard. Dimly, he recalled that he had stayed up rather late doing... come to think of it, he couldn't actually remember now what it was that he had been doing the previous night, all of his other thoughts more less drawing up blanks. It was probably much later than he would have liked it to be, he realized with a small grimace.

"No, she left about an hour ago." The words were spoken so casually, and somehow, they still managed to make his blood run cold. "Is something wrong, Heiji? You look out of sorts."

"Did she say where she was going?" Heiji pressed, ignoring the question about himself for the moment. Why had that idiot left to go somewhere without him?

"Just that she was going to Tokyo." Ginshiro told him, shaking his head. "I assumed that she was heading to the place of that Mouri Ran girl that she's become friends with lately. Is there something wrong with my daughter?" It was at this point that Ginshiro leveled a far sharper gaze on the disheveled young man, a tight frown forming on his face.

This wasn't exactly the first time that he had come over to their house, early in the morning, looking for Kazuha in such a state. It was, however, the first time since _that_ incident, which for once, seemed to be the furthest thing from his thoughts. He'd been putting in an effort to avoid the Toyama residence since then, so whatever it was that had driven him to come here must have been something indeed.

"Ah." Opening his mouth, and then just as quickly shutting it, Heiji forced a smile on his face. At the very least, if she was really with Neechan, he could at least call her and tell her to keep an eye on him. It didn't provide him with much comfort, but with some, enough to compose himself... or as much as he could, given his appearance.

"No, I just had a bad dream, an' she wasn't pickin' up her phone, so..." Heiji told him, taking a slight step back, a hand straying up behind his neck. "I see, so she went ta Neechan's place in Tokyo! Then, sorry ta bother ya, uncle. Maybe I should head there myself!"

"Heiji-." For a moment, it seemed almost as if Ginshiro wanted to say something else, before he thought better of it, instead shaking his head. "Make sure to wear a matching pair of shoes this time."

"Aw, but I was tryin' ta start a new trend!"

* * *

If she had to be honest, she was actually feeling a bit nervous.

It had nothing to do with the strange letter she had gotten, even if it had been stuffed to the brim with no small amount of money. It hadn't been the first time she'd gotten an odd letter with no return address- it had already happened once or twice before. If anything, th reason that she was so nervous was simply because...

...well, she'd never actually been on a ship this _big_ before.

It wasn't as if she was entirely a stranger to the fancier things in life- Heiji's mom did seem to have some fairly impressive connections, so she'd been to a formal party once or twice before. Still, it was never an environment that she could find herself staying calm in, especially not when she was alone.

It wasn't as if the letter had told her to come alone or anything. Actually, she had tried to invite Heiji that morning, before she left, only to find that he was still in bed for a change. Since that was usually a sign that he hadn't gone to sleep until the early hours of the morning, she had decided to let him be, and had instead come to Tokyo herself.

Really, she'd been hoping to invite Shinichi and Ran as well, but that hadn't worked out either. She'd called, but nobody had picked up. Since there was a chance that she'd miss the boat entirely if she went to check the agency herself, she instead decided to go straight to the port where she was to catch it.

Just as the letter had said, showing one of the old style bills that she had gotten in the letter had let her right on. At first, she had thought it was meant as payment- but instead, they had let her keep the note, confusing her to no small degree. Well, while she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the month, it certainly went a long way to make this whole trip even more mysterious.

But speaking of sleeping in... letting out a loud yawn, Kazuha blinked her eyes, the fact that she hadn't gotten that much sleep the previous night either only now sinking into her. Though they hadn't left port yet, the rocking of the boat didn't really help with her exhaustion, only adding to it, if anything.

Well, they still had some time before they departed from the sound of it, so a quick nap wouldn't hurt. After all, one couldn't conduct an investigation on so little sleep!

...though it would be kind of nice to know what, exactly, she had been called here to investigate.

* * *

 _"A detective? You mean there's another one on board?"_

 _"That's right. They don't look that much like one, though."_

In hindsight, those words should have perhaps served as something of an omen. Still, when Toyama Kazuha burst out of the room they had been trying to gain access to, irate at the noise that they were making, he'd found himself being taken by surprise. Perhaps not quite as much as the person in question herself, though her surprise had very quickly turned into delight.

Which had just as quickly turned into curiosity, as she asked after the reason why they had been making so much of a racket in the first place. Not that he ever doubted it from beginning.

"The Gray Planner?" Kazuha asked. "Now that ya mention it, I've heard that name somewhere before... I think my father mentioned somethin' about him once before. I thought he was dead, though."

As she let Kogoro catch her up to speed on the one once known as the Gray Planner- or rather, Kanou Saizou, his real name was, Conan didn't miss the way he saw gears turning in her head. Once he had the chance, he'd have to ask about it later- what, exactly, had brought her to this ship today. Given the situation, he doubted it was just a coincidence.

Well, then again, she might have just seen the ad in the paper and had decided to come. She did seem like the type to like dolphins.

Which, apparently, was just as much Ran's theory as his own.

"Eh? It wasn't because of the ad that you came, Kazuha-chan?"

"I'm not sure what kinda ad yer talkin' about Ran-chan, but my reason fer bein' here is different." Kazuha told her, shaking her head. For a brief moment, her gaze flickered over towards Conan, and he could only twitch at the slightly teasing expression that lingered on her face. No doubt she found some amusement in the idea of him going along with Ran on a three night trip to spot dolphins. "I got a weird letter in the mail, filled with old bills, so I decided ta come on this ship both ta see what it was that they wanted, an' ta return the money."

"I see." Ran noted. "I guess you didn't bring Hattori-kun with you this time."

"I tried, but he was still asleep when I went over ta his place this mornin'." Kazuha told them, pausing to a sip of her tea. "He'll probably be full of complaints when I get back, though. Ever since that incident with Sakata-han, he's been awfully noisy whenever I try an' go off ta case without him."

"Isn't he just worried?" Ran asked. "You did get shot, after all."

"I guess." Kazuha admitted. "But well, if I have ta be honest, it's just a bit annoyin'. Between the two of us, he's got the worse luck, so bein' lectured about somethin' like that is sort of... ya know?"

Well, whatever the reasons, if he had to be honest, Conan was almost grateful that she hadn't brought Heiji with her this time. He wasn't a _bad_ person, he supposed, but he was someone that he found himself having trouble getting along with. It was a combination of the fact that he perceived him as a child, and very clearly did not have any idea as to what one was supposed to _do_ with a child, and the fact that he was just a bit _too_ perceptive for Conan's comfort.

Well, he supposed that with his father being who he was, that much was to be expected.

"I think it's cute, though." Ran noted. Though the smile on her face was bright, there was a trace of something else beneath it. Knowing her as well as he did, Conan quickly picked up on it- and hoped that Kazuha hadn't. Were she to, he knew that he would be in for another chiding about keeping secrets, something he'd rather avoid. "Having your childhood friend worry about you that much."

Letting out a snort, Kazuha only rolled her eyes. "There's nothin' about Heiji that I'd call _cute_ , Ran-chan. When he was a kid, maybe, but..."

Realizing in that instant, she had already said too much, Kazuha turned a bright shade of red, slamming her teacup down. "A-anyways, let's forget about that guy!"

* * *

Come to think of it, they had disagreed like this the first time they met, too.

Perhaps _disagree_ wasn't quite the right word- arrived at different conclusions was better, if not more wordy. In truth, it was a thing that made her nervous- the last time she had come to a different conclusion, she had allowed herself to be mislead by the culprit, falling into a trap that they had set up. Normally, she wouldn't have made a mistake like that, but though the challenge hadn't been her idea, she had nonetheless found herself getting caught up in it, being blinded by it.

Though, suffice to say, she didn't expect her first impression of Kudo Shinichi to be that of a guy who looked like he was about to collapse on his feet. No wonder Ran had been so worried about him at the time, she had thought- it was only later that she had come to understand the reason behind the source of his strange sickness, as well as both his sudden appearance and disappearance.

That too, had been Heiji's idea, come to think of it- going to that Holmes fan gathering, that was. In truth, she didn't care all that much for Sherlock Holmes- the mysteries were interesting, but the as for the man himself, well... she always had preferred female detective stories, and for a reason. But Heiji had seem convinced that she'd run into Kudo there, and in a way, it almost chafed her to admit that he'd been right.

Especially since the logic behind his assumption had been so strange to begin with. But well... this _was_ the same guy who not only believed in ghosts, but believed that if one tried hard enough, one could _definitely_ punch them.

Still, nervous though she was, she didn't think that she was wrong- at least, not until she saw _that_. It was as if everything had clicked, all at once- everything but the _culprit_ , that was.

Because she wasn't the only one who had been wrong.

"Then, if it's not them, then who...?"

When the answer struck her, it was quite literal.

* * *

It was the sound of something falling into the ocean that caught his attention. Even if it were a small sound, it would have still piqued his curiosity, but the loud splash that caught his ears nearly caused his heart to skip a beat.

Call him paranoid if you will, but the first thing he thought of was to ask where Kazuha had gone to. When one of the crew members had informed him that she had borrowed a large flashlight to look around the deck of the ship, he swore for a moment that his heart stopped beating entirely.

While his legs might be considerably shorter now than they had been in the past, when he wanted to, he could more than make up for that gap. If that splash was what he thought it was, then...

When it came to someone being in danger, his act tended to slip. But since he'd outpaced everyone who was following after him, it barely concerned him, calling out Kazuha's name until he made his way up to the deck, from where the source of the sound most likely came from. It was only when he was met with nothing but empty ocean, and the burnt remains of the corpse that had started this all, that he found himself halting.

Even then, it only took him a few seconds before he pulled himself up onto the ship's railing, once more calling out her name to the open ocean. It couldn't be... it couldn't be!

If she'd really gone overboard, in a place like this... and in the darkness of night, at that! Something like that couldn't have...

The ocean had no answers to give.

* * *

She supposed that she should count herself lucky that the blow to her head hadn't been enough to knock her out. Even though it hadn't managed to do that, it still disorientated her for longer than she would have liked- by the time she finally broke to the surface, gasping for air, the ship was already long gone.

Expelling the last of the seawater that she had swallowed, Kazuha fought to keep her head above the water. Already, her mind was racing, trying to figure out the best way out of this predicament- of which there weren't that many options. Even if she knew which way it had gone, there was no way she could catch up with the ship, and trying to swim against the current would only tire her out faster than simply trying to stay afloat.

The best thing to do was wait for rescue- hopefully someone on the ship would noticed that she was missing, and put two and two together. Failing that, she'd have to do her best to draw one to her. A quick check proved that the flashlight that she borrowed was still in working order- thank god, it must have been waterproof.

 _That bastard_... if he really thought that she was going to just give up and die that easily, he had another thing coming! While she could count on Shinichi to solve the case in her absence, there was no way she would be satisfied with that. She'd _definitely_ survive this, and come right back, and make him pay for what he'd done.

The life of high school detective Toyama Kazuha wouldn't end this easily!

* * *

" _Achoo!_ "

"Are you alright, Kazuha-chan?" Hovering worriedly by her friend, Ran could only frown. She had been worried when they couldn't find Kazuha anywhere, but she never could have imagined that she had been pushed overboard! It must have happened back when Conan had heard that strange splash, and she couldn't help but blame herself for not acting sooner.

Thank god though, things had turned out alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kazuha told her, giving her something of a sheepish smile. "I'll be better when I can get back ta my room. Thank god I brought a change of clothes with me, or I'd be in trouble!"

"Trouble...?" Ran blinked. "Ah, that's right, yours must be soaked."

"Ah, well..." Glancing away from her, feeling her cheeks tint a bright shade of red, Kazuha drew the blanket that she had been given closer around her. She knew he was worried too, but honestly, that Shinichi- couldn't he hover somewhere else? If there was one thing that she was grateful for, it was how long the blanket that she had been given was. "That's true, but that's because most of them are still in the ocean."

"Eh, you mean...?" Placing a hand over her mouth as she realized, Ran's face turned a bright shade of red. For just a moment, her gaze flickered down towards Conan, so fast that Kazuha nearly missed it. It seemed to be enough to spur her into action though, scurrying behind her, pressing her hands against her back. "I-in that case, let's hurry and get back to your room, Kazuha-chan!"

"Ah... yeah." Slowly nodding her head, Kazuha pursed her lips together, briefly wondering what that was about. Well, to be honest, right now she really did just want to change into a nice, dry set of clothes, so any other worries could come later. "Let's go, Ran-chan."

"Then, can I come with-?"

" _Conan-kun_ ," there was something in Ran's voice which very nearly bordered on a threat, if he wasn't mistaken, "...you can stay here."

* * *

" _Ka_ _ **zu**_ _ha_."

"...nice ta see ya too, Heiji."

She had to admit, she hadn't expected to see him here at all. She knew full well that he'd be annoyed that she had ditched him, but not to _this_ point. How had he even known where to find her anyways?

"That's _all_ ya got ta say ta me?" Heiji asked, taking a few steps forward, all but brushing aside Ran's greeting. Though Heiji and anger were two things that often went together, it was rare to see him _this_ angry. "Ya went an' put yerself in danger, an' all ya got ta say ta me is that it's nice ta see me?"

Not much of one to be a shrinking violet, not even in the face of the rather intense anger that was radiating outwards from him, Kazuha narrowed her eyes, straightening her back. "Yeah, that's all that I've got ta say ta ya, Heiji! What's with ya lately anyways? Ya've been actin' like ya think I need an escort or somethin'."

"Ya nearly drowned!"

"Nearly. _Didn't_." Kazuha told him, folding her arms in front of her chest, locking eyes with him. "Big difference."

"Barely a difference." Heiji insisted, clearly not backing down here. "Ya could have _died_ , Kazuha."

"I didn't." Kazuha told him simply, her shoulders slumping slightly. Angry though he was, the source of it was concern for her- and it wasn't like he was entirely wrong. She really was lucky that a fishing boat had come along, especially so late at night. If it hadn't, she probably would have...

...ah.

So that's why he was so angry.

"I'm alive, Heiji. Short one change of clothes, but alive." Kazuha told him.

The anger didn't quite fade from him, but at the very least, she'd told him something he clearly wanted to hear. Just seeing it with his own two eyes apparently wasn't enough- it must have been a very bad nightmare indeed if he needed a verbal confirmation. In that sense, she couldn't entirely blame him for being angry.

That wasn't to say that she liked it. Or rather, his anger was fine, understandable, even. The problem was... well, the problem was that she didn't really care to hear words that she knew he was repeating from his father come out of his mouth. She had thought that she had helped distract him from what was troubling him the other day, when they went to the amusement park together, but it seemed like she had been mistaken.

"Why'd ya go without me?" Heiji asked finally. "I would have come with ya."

"Ya didn't hear from Auntie Shizuka?" Kazuha asked. "I did, but ya were still fast asleep. Since that's not like ya, I figured it would be best just ta let ya keep doin' that, an' went ta Tokyo on my own."

Opening and shutting his mouth, as if there was something that he wanted to say to that, Heiji let out a long sigh, finally stepping back and giving her a bit of space. "Ya invited _Neechan_."

"She just happened ta be there, that's all. Besides, from the sound of it, I would have thought ya'd have liked it better if I wasn't alone." Kazuha told him, ignoring the fact that it had been her plan to do so in the first place. "I'm really fine though, Heiji."

"...ya sure?" Heiji asked, his shoulders finally slumping. In truth, he was more relieved than anything. "Ya didn't get hurt anywhere, or anythin' like that?"

"Nothin' serious." Kazuha promised him. "Now then, Heiji, are ya gonna ignore Ran-chan an' Conan-kun fer the rest of the mornin', or are ya gonna at least acknowledge they exist?"

"Ah." As if only now fully realizing that he had ignored them, in spite of bringing up her name earlier, Heiji could only flash them a sheepish smile. "...my bad."


	6. Intermission 3: Down at the Body Shop

**AN** : Next intermission is here! I don't think I've mentioned it here before, which is silly of me really, but I actually have an ask blog that's related to this particular AU! If you're curious, and want to ask questions of either Heiji or Kazuha, you can visit meitanteikazuha on tumblr, and ask away!

Next up, the Tottori Spider Mansion case!

* * *

 **In Reverse**

 **Intermission Three** : Down at the Body Shop

* * *

"What, it's just ya again, Kazuha?"

"There's no need ta sound so disappointed." Planting her hands on her hips, Toyama Kazuha's eyebrow arched, locking eyes with her childhood friend. "I'm a payin' customer ya know, Heiji."

"Ya say that, but I know ya just come here cause ya can get a discount on service." Barely even sparing her a glance in turn, Hattori Heiji merely let out a somewhat disgruntled click of his tongue. "So? What did ya do ta it _this_ time?"

"Don't make me sound like some kind of walkin' accident." Kazuha noted, before letting out a rather curt sigh. "If I knew what had happened, I wouldn't need ya ta look at it."

"Still need me ta fix it though, unless _miss detective_ is interested in breakin' the law today." Heiji noted with a shrug. "Ya towed it in ta the usual place?"

"I could just take it somewhere else, ya know." There was no actual bite to her threat- and he knew it too. "But yeah. I parked it in the usual place."

"Then, I'll guess I'll go ahead an' take a look at it." Pushing back his chair, Heiji let out a faint yawn. "Seein' as the boss ain't here right now. Mind the shop, _Hei-chan_ , he said. Should've known I should have never let him speak ta Otaki-han."

"Ya stay up late again last night, Heiji?" Kazuha asked, arching a brow. "That was an awful yawn ya just made right there."

"Yeah, a bit." Heiji admitted, pausing for a moment to crack his neck. "Got really into readin' this online novel."

"Let me guess. It was somethin' occult again, right?" Kazuha asked.

"What's wrong with that?" Arching a brow, Heiji frowned. "Ya want me ta fix yer bike or not, Kazuha?"

"Yes, yes, please do." Kazuha said simply. "I just don't see the appeal."

"Ya don't gotta, seein' as yer not the one readin' em." Heiji noted, tightening his hair tie and letting out another loud yawn. "Well, I'll just get some coffee when I go on lunch break, an' I should be fine fer the rest of the day. What, ya worried?"

"Of course not." Kazuha said simply, folding her arms in front of her chest. "I don't have the time ta worry about what some occult obsessed idiot does with his free time."

"I wouldn't call it an _obsession_ , Kazuha." Heiji said.

"Yer literally in the _occult club_ , Heiji." Kazuha pointed out.

"...okay, fair point." Heiji admitted after a moment, giving her half a grin. "Now, let's go see what ya've done ta yer poor bike this time."

"Don't say that like ya don't get yers into a mess just as often." Letting out a slight sigh, Kazuha followed behind him into the garage proper. "An' it's not like I did anythin' ta it myself, not this time. The engine just stopped runnin' all of a sudden."

"Ya notice anythin' funny about it before then?" Sparing a glance back towards her, Heiji tilted his head. "Seein' as that's kind of yer job an' all, _miss high school detective_?"

Narrowing her eyes slightly at that remark, Kazuha merely shrugged her shoulders. "Nothin' at all. Everythin' seemed like it was pretty much in order. Besides, yer the one whose good with this kinda grease monkey stuff, Heiji, not me."

Ah, there it was- that smug grin he got whenever anyone praised him. Honestly, he could be such a pain sometimes, but she'd be lying if she tried to say that she honestly didn't like seeing that expression on his face.

...though, it wasn't _that_ that kept her coming back to this shop, though.

"Well, yer right about that!" It wasn't the glow of his radiant smile that caught her attention now, not as he took of his jacket, tossing it aside on a nearby workbench. No, her eyes were currently somewhere else entirely. Ah, it seemed that fortune was smiling on her today- she totally didn't understand why Heiji leaned towards low cut shirts so much, but when it gave her such a nice view, she was hardly going to _complain_ about it.

...kendo really did some great things to a guy's muscles, didn't it. Ah, if only that fluffy ponytail of his didn't conceal his back from view, then she could _truly_ -

"Hey, Kazuha! Ka- _zu_ - _ **ha**_!"

Snapping out of it, wondering for how long she had spaced out for, Kazuha felt her cheeks turn a bright red, wondering for a moment if Heiji had caught her staring. Taking in the irritated expression on his face, she let out a faint laugh.

"Sorry, I just spaced out there fer a second. What were ya sayin', Heiji?" Kazuha asked.

"...ya sure have a lot of nerve, fer someone who lectures me half as much fer doin' the same." Arching a brow, Heiji folded his arms in front of his chest, totally missing the way her eyes almost seemed to follow them. "Anyways, I was sayin' ya might as well take a seat. This might take awhile fer me ta fix up."

"Ah, yes." Nodding her head, Kazuha carefully made her way through the workshop, taking a seat on the small bench. Watching with a soft smile as he set to work, she rested one hand lightly on his jacket, mentally noting that it was still a bit warm.

She knew the reason why he had taken this job at first was to simply keep his mind busy. It hadn't been easy to convince his parents at first- his mother wanted him to focus on his studies, after all, and she thought that a part time job would distract from that. But, after _that_ had happened...

...well, it seemed that they wanted something for him to occupy himself with just the same.

And to think if that hadn't happened, right now they might be...

"Hey, Heiji-" Kazuha began.

"What?" Pausing to glance back at her, Heiji blinked.

"Ah-" Opening her mouth and then closing it again, Kazuha changed her mind. "Ya got a bit of oil on yer cheek."

"Oh, do I?" Using her motorcycle's mirror to check, Heiji flashed her a quick grin. "Thanks, thanks. I'll clean it off when I'm done here. Should take me awhile longer yet. If ya get thirsty, the water's in the usual place!"

With that, he turned his attention back towards her motorcycle again, leaving Kazuha's gaze transfixed on him. Taking in a long breath, she let out a deep sigh- now wasn't the time to talk about it, she supposed.

For the moment... she supposed she would just enjoy the show.

...kendo, she decided, really _was_ good for a person's muscles.


	7. The Tottori Spider Mansion Demon Case

**AN** : Hey y'all, I'm back with the next case! Of course, it's the Tottori Spider Mansion case, always a favorite. And after this one (and the upcoming intermission) it's none other than Desperate Revival itself! And hoo boy, do I have some things planned for that one... boy oh boy, do I ever. So look forward to that!

As always, thanks for reading! If you could be so kind as to leave a review, that would be great!

* * *

 **In Reverse**

 **The Tottori Spider Mansion Demon Case**

* * *

"What's that ya got, Kazuha?"

"Wait, Heiji, don't just take things from me!" Though she just as quickly reached to take the letter that had been so _rudely_ snatched out of her hands back, she found it move just out of her reach instead. "Hand it back already! It doesn't involve ya anyhow!"

"Not a chance~." Taking a step back from her, Heiji flashed her a broad grin, scanning over the letter, ignoring Kazuha's not-so-quiet mutterings about when the hell he'd even gotten here. " _Uwah_ , sounds shady!"

"Right?" Kazuha agreed, finally taking the letter back from him. "An' on top of it, they didn't even give me a number ta contact them by, an' sent me a load of cash ta boot."

"Yer not seriously thinkin' of takin' the case, are ya?" Heiji asked, arching his brows. "Remember what happened the _last_ time ya followed up on a shady letter."

"Yer not gonna let that go, are ya?" Kazuha asked, heaving a short sigh as her friend merely nodded his head in response. "It'll be fine, Heiji. It's not like I'll be on a boat this time. The address is in the mountains."

"So yer tradin' in bein' shoved off ships fer bein' shoved off a cliff?" Heiji asked. "Doesn't sound like much of an upgrade ta me."

"I'm not gonna be shoved off any cliffs!" Kazuha said shortly, plopping back down in her chair, setting the letter aside on the desk. "Besides, ya know I can't just take this money. At the very least, I have ta go an' give it back ta this damn Takeda fool."

"An' ya might as well solve the case while yer at it?" Heiji finished, folding his arms in front of his chest. She almost flinched under that gaze, one that told her he'd read her like a book. "Forget it. If yer that damn worried about the money, just donate it ta charity or somethin'."

"Ya know I can't do that." Kazuha told him, her brows knitting together. "Besides, when did ya become the boss of me anyways, Heiji? I'm free ta do what I want, ya know."

"I'm not-!" Heiji protested, before grumbling to himself, clearly realizing she had a point. Forced into a corner, he grumpily admitted what he was obviously trying to otherwise avoid saying. "Look, I'm just... I'm just _worried_ , okay?"

Letting her shoulders slump, Kazuha gazed up at him. Even if he hadn't admitted it, it was written all over his face. She didn't need to be any kind of detective to tell that much- just his childhood friend, who could read him just as easily as he could read her. "I know ya are, Heiji. But I promise, I'll be careful. No more surprises." She told him. "Besides, if yer that worried, why don't ya just come with me yerself?"

"Oh?" Amused, Heiji took a step forward. "Is that an invitation, Kazuha?"

"What else would it be, idiot?" Kazuha replied. "It ain't a circus animal."

Letting out a snort, Heiji let his hands drop. "Fine, in that case, I'll take ya up on that offer, Kazuha. Be yer bodyguard, maybe."

"I don't need a _bodyguard_." Kazuha told him- though her amused smile told him that she'd caught his attempt at a joke. A joke that was likely trying to cover up how unusual it was for him to offer to come with her on a job request- unfortunately not well enough that she failed to notice it.

He really _was_ worried about her, wasn't he?

"Besides, with yer luck, yer a lot more likely ta get into trouble than me." Kazuha finished.

"...I want ta deny that, but..." Trailing off a little, Heiji shrugged his shoulders, giving her something of a helpless look. She did have a fair point, loathe as he was to admit it. "Okay then. In that case, ya can act as _my_ bodyguard, Kazuha."

"In that case, why don't ya just not come?" Kazuha shot back, quirking a brow.

"Ya make a fair argument, but I'm still comin'." Heiji told her, his tone firm. "So? When are we goin'?"

"This weekend." Kazuha told him. "I'm worried about the contents of the message, so I want ta get there as soon as I can. Hopefully it's just a bad prank."

"Whoever can throw away that much money on a _prank_ doesn't deserve ta have it." Heiji couldn't help but note. "So? Ya know anythin' about this _Takeda_ place?"

"No, not at all." Kazuha said, shaking her head. "I suppose we'll find out when we get there. If I show 'em the letter an' explain everythin', surely they'll talk."

"How optimistic." Heiji observed, before pausing, a slight frown on his face. "By the way, is yer mom not around?"

"No." Kazuha said, shaking her head. "Did ya need her fer somethin'? She's always at therapy around this time of day. Thought ya knew that, Heiji."

"Ah, right... yer right. Just forgot." Rubbing the back of his neck, Heiji's frown deepened, before he quickly tried to cover it back up. "An' don't worry, it's nothin'! Just my mom wanted ta pass on a message ta her since I was goin' over ta yer place, that's all."

 _Forgot_ , he said. She had reason to doubt that- and reason to doubt that his mother, of all people would forget her mother's schedule. If she didn't miss her guess, he was double checking to make sure that she wasn't around, so that he wouldn't run into her.

After all this time, he was really still avoiding her, wasn't he?

Well... at least he'd made it inside of the house this time, she thought to herself. That was progress in and of itself, since she could count on one hand the number of times he'd been over here since the incident happened. When her father had told her that he'd shown up at their doorstep early in the morning on the day that she had left for that ill fated cruise, she had been rather surprised- though not unpleasantly so.

It would seem that wasn't merely a fluke, and hopefully, a sign for more positive things to come. It was almost enough to make her want to push him some more, but...

Well, this was progress, and the last thing she wanted to get was pushback. More than herself, the person that Heiji needed to speak to the most was her mother- hence why he was working so hard on _avoiding_ her.

"Then ya can just tell Auntie Shizuka ta call her later." Kazuha told him, getting to her feet. "Since yer here, ya wanna split the pudding I got the other day? It's from that new shop by the station."

"Oh, that trendy one?" Heiji asked. "Sure, sounds great!"

"Technically we only bought enough fer the three of us, but ya can have my father's share." Kazuha told him, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm sure he won't mind!"

* * *

"But how lucky is it, that we'd run into Ran-chan an' Conan-kun here!"

Really, after they had run out of gas and had gotten lost, the truck that had passed by had been like a beam of hope- right until it drove right past them. She hadn't expected Heiji to actually throw his helmet at it, and she wasn't sure what surprised her more- that he'd actually hit it, or that the occupants of the car had been none other than the Mouri family.

Plus one, she thought, glancing behind her, to where Conan had volunteered to sit in the back of the pickup truck. Were it not for the fact that the detective agency uncle and the weird foreigner they had met in the forest were back there with them, she was pretty sure he would have opted to remain seated in Ran's lap.

Couldn't say that she blamed him, not really. Heiji did make his intent to pick a fight with his true self pretty clear, and that was more than enough to color anyone's impression of him for good.

Still, she had to admit, she was thankful. _Honestly_ \- if her bike had been fixed properly in the first place, this wouldn't have happened! For someone who worked at a bike repair place, to let his own run out of gas... sometimes she really didn't understand how Heiji's brain even worked. He'd even forgotten his cellphone!

...well, she'd forgotten hers just the same, but- that was neither here nor there!

"It really is." Ran said, nodding her head. "But what are you doing out here, Kazuha-chan? You and Hattori-kun both."

"Ah, about that," Kazuha said, fishing into her jacket pocket, pulling out the letter that was the source of this. "I got this strange letter the other day."

"Letter?" Ran blinked, taking it from her and reading it over, before recoiling somewhat. "What's with this creepy letter? Spider mansion?"

"Right?" Kazuha asked, accepting it back from her. "I would have just ignored it normally, but they sent a bunch of money with it too, so one way or another, I have ta return it. But seein' as yer father was hired, maybe there's another Takeda family around here?"

"No, that's probably ours." The man who had been driving them silently thus far finally piped up, glancing in her direction. "I don't know about the letter you got, but if it's talking about a _spider mansion_ , then that's definitely our place."

"Really?" Somehow, she was getting a bit of a bad feeling about this. Glancing behind her, wondering how much of their conversation Heiji could hear from the back of the truck, Kazuha frowned. "What do you mean by that, Takeda-san?"

"Yeah. That's what some locals call the place." He told them. "The spider mansion of puppet ridge. They say if you don't want to be cursed, you should stay away from the place."

"Well," he quickly added, "...it's just a rumor, so don't pay it any mind."

"...cursed?" Feeling a cold sweat trickle down the back of her neck, Kazuha opened her mouth, having half a mind to pursue this rumor further- before she quickly shut it, not knowing if Heiji was in earshot or not. Besides, Ran looked a bit on the pale side, so maybe she was bad about with this sort of thing.

Either way, from the sound of it...

...this might actually be a case that that occult maniac might actually like. She'd gotten that feeling when she'd gotten the letter, but...

Maybe worry wasn't the _only_ reason he'd wanted to come along.

* * *

"Hey," given the serious expression on his face, for a moment, Kazuha almost that perhaps he'd another question about the case, "...does Hattori-kun like the stars that much?"

Well that was a question that, suffice to say, she hadn't expected. Blinking slowly, trying to determine why it was that he'd asked all of a sudden, Kazuha tilted her head. "No, I don't think he cares about them that much."

"Then why did he want to go to the grave site?" Conan asked, a tight frown on his face.

Ah, so _that_ was why he was asking. True enough, that had been Ran's reason, but...

Shaking her head, Kazuha gave him a helpless shrug of her shoulders. "Probably fer the graves themselves." She told him. "He likes places like that."

"...really?" Arching a brow, Conan could only wonder about that. "No offense Kazuha-chan, but that's kind of weird."

"None taken. It's true." Kazuha freely admitted. "If it's that guy, he's probably hopin' ta see a ghost or somethin'."

"...a ghost, huh." Conan noted, and she swore the curve of his brow managed to arch even higher. "Now that you mention it, you did say something about him believing in that sort of thing back when we first met, but..."

Shaking his head, Conan put it aside. While he didn't believe in that sort of thing himself, to each their own- he wasn't about to renounce the interests of his friend's friend. "That's the opposite of Ran, then."

"Really?" Kazuha asked. "Now that ya mention it, she did get pretty pale when that old man mentioned somethin' about the place bein' cursed back in the car." Her frown deepening as she processed this new information, she suddenly regretted the fact that Heiji didn't have his cellphone with him. "That's bad... I hope Heiji doesn't start prattlin' on about ghosts or anythin' like that. When he gets goin', he can be awfully hard ta stop."

"...but why did ya ask?" Kazuha asked, backing up the topic, a sly smile spreading across her face. "Don't tell me that yer jealous, Kudo-kun."

" _No_." The answer was both blunt and quick, and the glare that accompanied it only served to make her smile grow wider. "He didn't seem the type, so I was just curious. Don't put me in the same boat as _that guy_."

"Now, now, don't be that way." Kazuha said, waving a hand. "Heiji's probably not _that_ serious about fightin' ya."

"Somehow I doubt that." Conan dryly noted.

"Besides, I bet by the time ya-" Pausing mid-sentence, Kazuha frowned. "Doesn't it sound pretty nosy out there?"

"...now that you mention it." Sliding open the sliding door, Conan peered outside. "Let's go check it out."

"Yeah."

* * *

"Um, I've been wondering this for awhile, Hattori-kun, but what exactly are you taking pictures of?"

Somehow, Ran got the feeling that she'd regret asking, but at the same time, she couldn't help but be curious. She had assumed for sure that Heiji had been interested in seeing the stars from the grave site- but it didn't seem as if he were paying them any mind at all. If anything, he'd been doing nothing but taking pictures since they had arrived here- but of what, she couldn't tell.

"Hm?" Glancing back towards Ran, a bright smile crossed Heiji's face. "Ya know about spirit pictures, Neechan?"

"S-spirit pictures?" Yep, she definitely regretted asking, Ran thought. "Isn't that where you try and take a picture of a ghost?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it!" With a nod of his head, Heiji tapped his camera to his shoulder. "Doesn't this look like the sort of place that'd turn somethin' up?"

"W-well..." Now that he mentioned it, it kind of did. She had been so busy looking up at the sky, that she hadn't spared any attention to the small graveyard itself, but now that she gave it a closer look, well... she wished that she hadn't. "Let's not talk about that, shall we?"

"What, ya don't like ghosts, Neechan?" Heiji asked, blinking a little.

"...yeah." Ran admitted after a moment.

"Heh, I'm a bit surprised." Frowning a little, Heiji seemed to debate something for a moment- before he shrugged his shoulders and tucked his camera back away. "Ya don't really seem like the type."

"Is there something wrong with that?" Her tone sharpening, she watched as Heiji quickly shook his head, scrambling to make amends.

"No, no!" Heiji said quickly, flashing her an awkward grin. _Scary_... Neechan could be awfully scary sometimes, for someone who was otherwise so gentle. "There's nothin' wrong with it! Nothin' at all!"

Puffing out her cheeks, and then letting it go, Ran glanced down towards the bag Heiji had tucked his camera back in. "Then, are you not afraid of them, Hattori-kun? Kazuha-chan did mention once before that you're a member of the occult club too, so..."

"Well, I admit that I'd rather not run into somethin' like an evil spirit, but..." Trailing off a little, Heiji seemed to seriously consider her question- if only for a moment, before he gave her another broad grin. "Besides, even if one showed up, between the two of us, I'm pretty sure we could beat it up!"

Blinking more than a little at that, Ran tilted her head. "...come again?"

"Beat it up." Heiji repeated, blinking in turn. "When ya think of it that way, it's not that scary!"

"No, no, that wouldn't work!" Ran told him. "I mean, you can't punch a ghost!"

"How do ya know?" Heiji asked. "Ya ever try?"

"Of course not!" Ran said. "You don't even need to try to know that much."

"Really?" Heiji frowned, looking unconvinced. "I think ya could, though. It's all about willpower, willpower."

"No, I don't think it's about that at all." Ran replied, before letting out a long sigh. She got the feeling that the more they talked about this, the higher the chance was that something would come out... and that she wanted least of all!

It was bad enough that the place they were staying at was apparently rumored to be _cursed_ \- she didn't want to have anything more to do with that at all!

* * *

So much for avoiding it, Ran glumly thought to herself.

Heaving a long sigh, she slumped back onto her heels, taking a break from digging around in her luggage. She didn't know if it was her expression of disappointment or her ceasing of movement that caught his attention, but whatever the case, it drew Heiji's attention away from his back and back towards her.

"What's up, Neechan?" Heiji asked, propping himself up. "That's an awful long sigh ya made. Bummed about the case?"

"No, it's not that." Honestly, at this point, she'd almost gotten used to it. "I can't find the mascot strap for my phone."

"Yer phone?" Heiji blinked, tilting his head. "Did ya drop it somewhere?"

"Maybe." Ran told him, trying to think about where she might have done so. "It could have been in the car. I suppose I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to check, given all the commotion."

"There's no need fer that." Already rising to his feet, Heiji flashed her a broad grin. "I mean, that foreigner guy left the car keys by the entrance. If we just pop out real quick, we won't bother anyone."

"But..." Ran trailed off a little, looking a bit unconvinced.

"It's important ta ya, right?" Heiji asked. "I've got a penlight an' everythin'. Well, it's actually Kazuha's, but I don't think she'll mind if I just borrow it fer a few minutes, seein' as she took my camera from me an' all."

"That can't be helped." Ran told him. "She had to take photographs of the crime scene."

"Could have borrowed that Robert guy's camera instead of mine." Heiji muttered to himself, even as he fetched Kazuha's penlight from her luggage. "Anyways, let's go. If it's not in the car, it's probably where ya dropped yer phone before we left."

Sensing that there was no talking him out of the idea, and not liking the idea of leaving her charm out there until morning, Ran got to her feet. "Alright, I suppose a quick check wouldn't hurt."

"Like I thought, it's really important ta ya." Heiji noted, grinning from ear to ear. "What, did that Kudo guy give it to ya?"

"Something like that." Ran told him. "It was his end of a promise, for causing my old phone to fall in the storm drain."

"...sounds like quite the guy." Heiji couldn't help but observe, arching a brow. "Goin' off an' leavin' ya alone like this. Ya could always try datin' Kazuha instead, ya know, I think she's up fer grabs."

"I'm not dating-!" Ran protested, before cutting herself off. "Besides, I don't think Kazuha-chan's _up for grabs_ , Hattori-kun."

"...really?" Tilting his head, blinking a little, this was apparently news to him. "She tell ya she likes someone or somethin' like that? She hasn't said a word about that to me!"

For a long moment, Ran merely held his gaze, before heaving a long sigh. She was trying to be helpfully subtle, but she got the feeling that Heiji wouldn't get it unless she was far more blunt about it. Not now, though- finding her charm took priority.

"No, nothing like that." Ran said simply. "But Kazuha-chan seems like the type who would be popular, so you should be careful, Hattori-kun."

His confusion not yet lifted, Heiji watched as Ran collected her umbrella, left to wonder what, exactly, she meant by that.

* * *

" _Heiji_!"

In the space between her finding him hanging there, and her noticing that he was still breathing, it was as if time had stretched out forever, standing still. Swallowing, Kazuha wasted no time in checking to make sure he was truly alright- and to her great relief, he did seem to be.

When they'd found Ran crying alone in the garage, saying that she couldn't find Heiji anywhere, she'd felt a bolt of fear spike through her. She might have joked about it before, but Heiji really did have bad luck. If he came across the culprit...

"...Kazuha?"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Kazuha let her shoulders slumped, even as she worked to loose the strings that held him up. "Don't talk, Heiji. I'll get ya down in just a second. Honestly, what were ya thinkin', becomin' some kinda damsel in distress?"

"Sorry." His smile was weak, and it was clear that he was still very much out of it- a good rest would help with that, she thought. "Not much of a bodyguard, am I."

"I thought we were goin' with the assumption that I was yer bodyguard?" Kazuha asked lightly.

"Oh yeah." Heiji dimly noted. "Not much of one, then."

"Fair enough." Kazuha noted, letting out a faint laugh, letting him lean on her shoulder. She was a bit grateful when Kogoro took Heiji's other arm- there had been a time in middle school when the two of them had been around the same height, but that time was long passed now.

"Let's get ya back ta the guest room. Ya can rest there." Kazuha told him. "An' try an' _stay_ outta trouble."

For attacking Heiji... this culprit, whoever they were, she wouldn't forgive them!

* * *

"Heiji, take off yer clothes!"

"Why?" He asked, even as he began doing just that, pulling his jacket off over his head. He barely even registered the squeak next to him, but Kazuha- and curiously enough, that Conan kid- sure as hell did.

"Wait, I didn't mean ta do it in front of Ran-chan!" Kazuha quickly blurted out, her face turning red.

"What, ya were the one who asked me ta strip so suddenly!" Heiji pointed out, arching a brow as his gaze dropped down to the pint sized shrimp of a kid, who was giving him one hell of a stink eye at the moment.

Weird kid.

"I didn't notice Ran-chan was here!" Kazuha protested, stomping over and crouching next to him. "Anyways, I need ta check fer somethin'."

"I thought ya said not ta strip." Heiji said, giving her a look. "Which is it?"

"Shut up, an' let me look ya over." Kazuha told him. "We found a stun gun burnin' in the furnace, an' that's about the only thing I can think of that can knock someone with yer thick skull out, so lemme check fer burn marks, ya idiot."

"Fine, fine." Throwing up his arms, he watched as Kazuha rolled her eyes and shoved them back down. "Ya can look me over till yer satisfied."

"Then, I'll take Conan-kun and wait outside." Ran remarked, all but scooping up the small child and exiting with him before he so much as had a chance to protest. "Call me if you need anything, you two."

"Okay~." Lifting a hand, Heiji watched her escort the small child out with a slight frown. "Is it really that fun runnin' around with that shrimp, Kazuha?"

"Yes." Kazuha replied frankly, jerking down the back of his shirt, a knowing look on her face. Right where she'd thought they would be. Seems like her hunch was right. "How ya feelin', by the way?"

"Well, ya know me. Takes more than just a stun gun ta put me down." Heiji told her, flashing her a broad grin. "Ya got this figured out yet, Kazuha?"

"Just about." Kazuha told him, getting up and tossing his jacket back towards him. "Here, make yerself proper again."

"Yes, yes, as ya command." Taking his jacket and tugging it back on, Heiji pulled his hair out from under it, shaking it out. "By the way, Kazuha, I heard them sayin' somethin' about a legend earlier. Ya know anythin' about that?"

"I do, but I'm not tellin' ya." Kazuha said shortly, placing her hands on her hips. "Least not till the case is over. Then I'll tell ya all about it on the way back."

It was probably better to not tell Heiji that they'd done something like break a shrine, she thought. He'd definitely get mad.

"Spoilsport." Heiji noted, laying back down. "Ya need anythin' else from me?"

"Might need ta borrow yer bike." Kazuha told him, already holding out her hand.

"Guessin' yer not takin' no fer an answer then." Heiji noted, arching a brow. Turning over, he dug into his luggage, pulling out his keys and tossing them to her. "Don't lose them now."

"Don't worry, I won't."

* * *

"Are ya sure it was alright not ta say anythin'?"

There was a long pause before she got her answer- though she knew it wasn't because he didn't know to what she was referring. Not with that contemplative expression on his too small face, partially hidden by the glint of the glasses he didn't actually need.

"It's better this way." Conan finally spoke, not yet looking her way. "He was willing to kill two people because he thought they lead to her suicide. If he found out what the real cause was..."

"It'd crush him?" Kazuha finished, tucking her hands inside her pockets. "I can't really argue much there."

To think that the person who had been trying to avenge her suicide had been one of the chief causes of it in the first place... it was a truth that was hard to take. If the language barrier between the two had never existed, something as tragic as this would have never happened.

"Yeah." Taking in and letting out a deep breath, Conan let his shoulders slump. "Sometimes there's no easy answers."

"That much is true." Kazuha agreed, nodding her head. "Well, now that the bike's all gassed back up again, Heiji an' I will be headin' back home. Ya wanna come with us, Kudo-kun? Of course, Ran-chan an' that uncle are all invited."

"No, I'll have to pass on that." Finally looking up her way, Conan gave her a faint smile. "I think Uncle pretty much just wants to go home. Are you sure Hattori-kun's well enough to drive? We could always give you a ride to the closest station."

"No, he'll be fine." Kazuha told him. "A night's rest would have cleared that all right up. He's pretty hardy."

"Besides, I promised ta tell him all about the spider demon legend on the way back home." Kazuha added.

A look of understanding dawning on his face, Conan gave her a curt nod of his head. "Ah, got it. Ran hasn't asked, and I don't plan on telling her about it either. Seems their graveyard visit managed to pass without too much incident as well."

"Now that ya mention it..." Kazuha trailed off, letting out a faint laugh. "I had almost completely forgotten about that. I'll have ta remember ta lecture Heiji about it on the way home while I'm at it. I don't want him ta spook Ran-chan!"

"Tact's not exactly his strong suit, is it?" Conan couldn't help but observe.

"Ya could say that again." Kazuha said, giving him a small shrug of her shoulders. "Then I'd better go, Kudo-kun. Ya know that if ya need any help, ya can always give me a call, right?"

"I know. Now hurry up and go already." Conan told her. "I think Uncle's starting to get a bit impatient."

"Right, right. I wouldn't get in the way of your lovely family bonding, after all!" Kazuha quipped, taking a few steps back, a bright smile on her face.

"Idiot, it's not like that!"

"Yes, yes, if ya say so, Conan-kun~!"


End file.
